Oneshots and Rambles
by SupernaturalFanatic19
Summary: A collection of rambles, drabbles and oneshots. None of these are rated M.
1. Cell vs Shell

**Cell vs. Shell **

Cell easily recognized the power, even as he had been away from her and she had grown stronger. "Finish up here," he told Frieza, then flew off in the direction of the power.

Frieza decided to finish up what he had left to do. Shell was flying when she felt that something was wrong. She stopped flying for a moment and looked into the direction. "Something's wrong..." She mumbled, then felt a strong power heading her direction. "Shit..." She looked around and shot behind a large boulder, folding her wings up to her back and hiding her energy.

Cell hovered above where the energy should be, but it was gone now. He scoured the area, head turning every so often. Shell kept her energy hidden and peered out from behind the bolder. Her eyes widened when she saw the being in the air. "No way..." She whispered, not realizing she had accidentally lost control of hiding her power just a tiny bit.

Cell immediately let out a large but non-lethal ki blast to her hiding place, keeping his face blank for now. Shell jumped out of her hiding spot when a ki blast was sent at her hiding place. She used the dust to hide, coughing quietly as she looked for another bolder to hide.

Cell flew behind her, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Well, Shell, long time no see."

Shell shrieked and threw her arm back, her elbow ramming into his gut harshly.

He flipped her over his head, getting into his fighting stance. "I was dead, now I'm new and improved," he smirked.

She flew back a bit, staying in the air and glared at him. "This time, you're going to stay dead." She growled and got into a fighting stance.

He humored her for a while, fighting with her and occasionally having to block or shoo away attacks. The fight was relatively even, if he wasn't even at about half his power.

Shell then smirked, flying into the air a bit. Her wings stretched out to their full 30 feet wingspan and she put her thumbs and index fingers together to create a circle. "Try this on for size." She grinned and quickly powered up one of her most powerful attacks, blue, red and black all swirling together. "DRAGON BLAST!" She shouted and then aimed a large, powerful blast at him.

He disappeared into the blast, a small "Oh" escaping his mouth as he was engulfed by the attack. The entire area became covered in dust and Shell smirked. "Let's see you recover from that, fuckhead." She said, flying back a bit to look around the area for him.

He stood right were he was when the attack started, arms- arm- by his side, staring up at her for a moment before he fiddled with his missing arm. Her hazel eyes narrowed slightly. Normally her dragon blast could disintegrate a person, but if Cell was right, he was stronger than before.

He stepped back, then with a yell he regenerated his missing limb, the new extension twitching as it came back to life. "I guess that's all you have," he said, brushing his shoulder off. "That kind of hurt... but your power is dropping fast, don't think I can't feel it through your tough glance."

"Shit..." She muttered to herself, clenching her fists tightly. He was right; her power was dropping fast, after an attack like the one she just did. "Shut up!" She threw her hands up and started throwing ki blast after ki blast at him, left and right, one after the other.

He knocked them back like brushing off flies, waiting until her energy died down so much she could barely keep herself up. By the time she was done, she was having a hard time keeping herself up in the air. She panted, glaring at the being before her and then flew off as fast as she could, pushing herself.

He easily caught up to her, and with a well placed kick she was skidding face first into the dirt. She groaned, lifting her head up and spitting the dirt out of her mouth. She shouldn't have used a powerful attack so early. She struggled to get up, trying to push herself.

Cell stepped on her back and gripped her wings before they could retract, stretching them out as far as he could, much like a butterfly on a pin board. Shell gritted her teeth from the pain when he stretched her wings as far as they could, almost like ripping them out. She tried not to cry out from the pain that shot through her body.

"While I appreciate the tenacity and applaud your bravery and ability to fight, the bottom line is I'm not allowing you to go and warn the others." With that, he tore her wings out, ripping them prom her shoulder blades, the bone splintering like wood.

A loud scream of agony escaped her mouth as her wings were tore out of her shoulder blades. He had ripped them right out of the root from her shoulder blades. Tears fell down her cheeks from the horrible pain and she wanted nothing more than for it to stop.

He smirked, letting out a chuckle. "Let's go," he said, grabbing her shoulder and swinging her over his shoulder, upside down. He slowly walked along, waiting until she passed out from being upside down for too long.

She tried to fight against him, but she was too weak and too much in pain. Her vision blurred greatly and then she went limp on his shoulder, passing out finally from pain, exhaustion and being upside down.

When he felt her go limp, he smirked and took off back towards Frieza's base camp. When he landed, the first thing he did was find Frieza. "I need a cellblock," he said simply, shrugging his shoulder to motion at the unconscious girl on his shoulder. "This one was off to warn the others of our return."

Frieza looked at the unconscious girl on Cell's shoulder and nodded. "I believe there is one just down the street. Make sure she's locked up so she can't escape."


	2. Drabble-Protect

**Drabble-Protect**

"Leave her alone!"

The Observer turned his head and was met with a fist to the cheek. The shadow flew across the room, hitting the wall with a loud thud. He was surprised by the amount of force Mr. Scars had put into the punch. He growled as he placed a hand on his throbbing cheek, glancing at the partially shadowed male as he pulled the long-haired brunette up, holding her to him.

Before the Observer could stop them, they vanished.

The rook and the trembling human arrived at Mr. Scars's place that he had been calling home ever since his severance of ties from the Collective. It wasn't much, just an old, shambly abandoned home he had found. He gently led Shell into the toasty, warm home and set her down on the couch. He sat beside her and took a look at any injuries the Observer might've given her.

She had a bruise forming on her cheek, a few gashes on her arms, even a bleeding bite mark on her neck. Mr. Scars clenched his fist as he felt anger flow through him. How dare that fucker touch her?!

"Are you alright...?" He rubbed her back gently, trying to get her to calm down.

Shell slowly nodded. He then helped her stand up and led her to the bathroom where he could tend to her injuries the best he could. Upon more observation, he found several dark bruises along her arms and stomach area. How hard did the Observer hit her?

And with Firebrand acting up lately...he wasn't there to protect Shell. Mr. Scars knew he had to do it, to protect her from the Observer, from the Collective.

After tending to her injuries, he took her back to the living room, where he pulled her against his chest in a comforting embrace. "It will be alright Shell...I'm...I'm not leaving you." He assured her, rubbing her back and head gently.

Her own arms went around him gently and she sniffled, tears threatening to fall. "You...promise...?" Her voice choked.

He nodded and held her even tighter, gently running his fingers through her long, dark hair. "I promise Shell..."

The girl soon lost it and started crying into his chest, clutching to him as if he was going to slip through her fingers any moment now. He held her just as tightly, leaning his head on hers as he tried to sooth her.

He wouldn't leave her. Not now, not ever.


	3. Drabble-Snow

**Drabble-Snow**

A soft sigh escaped, breath seen in the cold air. The long-haired brunette stood in the snow near a lake that she often visited. The lake was frozen over and quite easy to walk over if the ice was thick enough. But she was not risking it. It was only December after all. The wind slightly picked up, snow blowing into Shell's face.

She sputtered, swatting the snow flakes away from her face. She huddled closer into her warm trench coat. She only had that, her warm knee high boots and baggy pants to keep her warm. Of course, she had a shirt and jacket on underneath, but the single digit weather was slightly getting to her. Her hazel orbs glanced out into the distance, watching the snow fall.

All of a sudden, something warm enveloped her head and forehead. "Hey!" Shell brought her hands out to tug the hat off from her eyes. A long, black scarf was placed against the back of her neck and then wrapped around a couple times.

"You should know better than to go out in this cold, barely dressed for it." Firebrand said in a matter of fact tone.

"Pfft." Shell scoffed, adjusting the hat on her head. She glanced up at the rogue before her, his five foot ten inches height going over her. Her forehead about reached his nose. "I'm only out here because I like the scenery." She motioned out to the lake and beyond it. "It's sort of like a uh...guess its like a special place to me. I can come out here and think."

"Think about what?" He asked, pin hole eyes glancing down at her.

"Things." She only said, turning back to gaze out into the distance.

Firebrand let a small frown cross his shadowed face. Obviously, she didn't seem to like discussing personal issues. Whether it be family life or relationships. But obviously again, she was not with anyone at the moment. He could tell that she was doing well since he had taken care of the engraving on her abdomen. As long as the Observer didn't find anything suspicious.

Shell couldn't help but shiver again as the breeze picked up once more. She was warmer now, with the hat and scarf giving her warmth. The later it got, the colder it seemed to get. She wouldn't be able to stay out for long, or else she could catch a cold, or even worse, hypothermia. She sighed, closing her hazel eyes slowly.

That's when she felt very warm arms come around her from behind. The right arm went under her chin, while the left arm went around her chest. The arms held her against the warm body it belonged to, conooning her in the warmth. Shell blinked, surprised by the gesture. She slightly tilted her head up to look at Firebrand from a tilted angle.

"You will catch a cold if you are not warm." He murmured, closing his pin hole eyes. He did not want the woman to get sick. His body temperature would keep her warm as long as she stayed close to him.

Shell only let a small smile cross her face and she almost seemed to snuggle into his hold. She stood there with him for a while, both of them silent in the warm moment.


	4. Haunted

**Haunted**

**Summary: **While Doflamingo is away on business, Shell sulks around the mansion and remembers some things in her past. Takes place a couple months before the oneshot More and it's co-chapters.

**Anime/manga: **One Piece

**Category: **slight romance

**Pairing: **DolfaxShell

...

The former captain of the Hartford Pirates stared out the window, her chin resting in her palm. It had been three days since Doflamingo had left for Shichibukai business, complaining about it at first and then going when Shell said he had to.

She pulled her knees to her chest and laid her chin on top of them, sighing heavily. She was bored beyond relief. She glanced down at the ring on her finger, remembering when the blonde bastard had slipped it on months ago.

Being only 30, it was a great age to get married.

_I'm still far too young..._Shell clutched her pants, Lillianne coming to her mind.

Ah, her unofficial adopted daughter.

Speaking of Lillianne, the captain saw the redhead poke her head from around the corner. "Captain-sama, you've been sitting there for two hours."

Shell huffed. "Thank you, captain obvious." she spoke sarcastically.

"It's quiet without Doflamingo here." Lillianne added, speaking of her father-figure. "I'm bored! Let's go to the amusement park!"

Shell shrugged and the two girls headed out to the amusement park on the island. As Shell watched the redhead talk about the rides, Shell's thoughts wandered somewhere else. She had been only 25, not engaged yet, when she found Lillianne half-dead in the Alabasta desert. Considering Lillianne was only 13-years old at the time and had raging hormones, Shell willingly took her in as her first crew mate.

Of course, with some help from Ivankov, who was more than willing to help with Lillianne. Coincidentally, that's when Shell found their ship, the _SS Drake_ (coughtheyhadtomurderthepreviousownerscough). As the years went by, Shell gained more and more crewmates.

Doflamingo came onto her mind again and Lillianne saw the dazed look on her captain's face. "Captain-sama, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." her captain replied.

Lillianne knew her captain loved the man, no matter how sadistic or cruel he could be. He was hardly ever like that towards them and the only time Lillianne had seen the sadistic side of Doflamingo was during the Whitebeard War. He was even disrespectful towards his fellow Shichibukai.

Both girls sighed. "Let's get something to eat Lily." Shell spoke, hearing Lillianne cheer as she ran ahead to the food court. She only smiled a little and followed after Lillianne, her eyes narrowing a little as she remembered a specific event that happened when Shell was 17, 13 years ago.

_13 years ago..._

"_This is your home island, right?" _

_Shell glanced over to her captain, Eustass Kidd. Funny thing was how they were the same age, yet he looked quite older than her. He was tall, around six feet. _

_Shell's eyes went back to the island ahead of them. "Yeah." She stretched her arm out straight, hearing her elbow crack. It was nice to finally be home again, after leaving Than Island when she was 16. _

_The ship docked and the crew stepped off the ship and went into the town. "This place looks quiet Captain." Killer spoke. _

_Shell glanced around, looking for her parents and sister. She finally spotted them and called out their names, running towards them. When her family saw her, their eyes widened. "My baby!" her mother called out, spreading her arms wide for a hug. _

_Shell grinned and was about to run into her mother's arms, but instead her mother's hand landed across her cheek harshly. Shell staggered backwards and held a hand to her reddened cheek. "Wha...?" she looked up at her mother, who had angry tears rolling down her face. _

"_How could you do that to us?!" her mother screamed, causing Shell to flinch. "How could you leave to be a fucking pirate?!" _

"_B-but..." Shell stammered and then she felt anger boil up inside. "I was sick of being on this island! As a pirate, I can travel the seas! I'm not a baby anymore! You can't tell me what to do!" _

_Her mother raised her hand to slap Shell again, but a hand grabbed Shell's shoulder and pulled her back. "Touch her again and I'll cut off your hand." Kidd snarled, glaring at the woman with dark red eyes. _

_Her mother backed away from Kidd as he brought out his katana and rose it above his head. "No!" A voice shouted angrily and a pale hand grabbed his wrist. Kidd looked over and saw Shell was the one who stopped him. "Don't kill them!" _

"_Why not? If they're dead, then you don't have to worry about them again." _

_She glared at him. "I don't care what my mother did, they're still my family." _

_He snarled. "Get out of my way!" he punched her right in the face and she staggered backwards, a trickle of blood flowing down from the corner of her mouth. "Now..." he turned to the family before him. _

"_I said STOP!" Shell's katana collided with his and he stepped backwards, glaring at her. _

"_You dare to defy me?!" _

"_I believe I just did." She glared back at him. _

_He growled. "You...little bitch!" he roared and then swung. Shell barely managed to block his attack, getting nicked on her left cheek deeply. She grabbed his wrist and with a swift move, plunged her blade into his side and cringed as he roared out in pain. _

_His blade cut into the flesh of her neck, but not deeply enough to nick any veins or arteries. Shell barely dodged again, this time the blade cut into the flesh of the left side of her forehead. Both of them breathed heavily and Kidd held a hand to his bleeding side. "You...you get lucky...this time." he snarled and then turned around, stalking back to his ship and his crew followed him. _

_Shell turned to her family, seeing the horrified looks on them. "Hun..." her mother whispered. "I'm so-." _

"_You've said that plenty of times." Shell interrupted her mother. "Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving and I'm never coming back." with that, she spun on her heel and walked away. _

_End flashback_

Shell looked up at the sky, wondering how her family was doing. Her parents would be in their late 50's to early 60's by now and her sister would still be in her late twenties. She lightly crossed her arms over her chest and followed after Lillianne.

Lillianne didn't know what to pick! She made an expression of disgust when she saw cooked potatoes. How she hated potatoes!

"Are you glaring at the potatoes Lillianne?" Shell asked from behind the redhead.

"Yeah! I hate potatoes!"

Shell only smiled a little at her childish personality. "C'mon, we'll eat later. Let's go on a ride." she put her arm around Lillianne's neck in a motherly way, kissing the top of her head. The two went on a low roller coaster, which Shell liked because it wasn't too high.

Once they got off, Lillianne was dizzy from all the rattling the car made. "Let's go on that again!"

Shell then heard a voice scream/yell out her name.

"SHELL BELL!"

Shell just got enough time to turn around and immediately got tackled to the ground by a familiar pink blob that had its face buried in her chest. "Gahh! Get off Doflamingo! You're causing a scene!" she blushed as he basically straddled her waist...right in the middle of the road.

Lillianne only sweat-dropped as the blonde ignored Shell's protests and continued to straddle her waist. Lillianne noticed people were staring and she glared at them. "What the hell are ya'll staring at?!"

The people stopped staring and moved on. Shell was finally able to pry the overly-clingy Warlord off her and stood up. "Don't do that again!" she smacked him over the head and he only pouted. "Oh god, don't pout please..."

"But I missed you!" he threw his arms around her, nuzzling her face. "Do you know how lonely it gets without you around?"

"Very lonely I'm guessing." she replied, blushing a little. She nearly had to stop the man from kissing her out in public. "Oi!"

...

Shell gasped silently as she opened her eyes, feeling something warm and moist trickling down her face. She touched her face and pulled her hand back to see water.

"Shell," Doflamingo stirred and switched the lamp on the nightstand on. She was lying on her side, her back to him. Her shoulders were tensed, along with the rest of her muscles. He could clearly see the black angel wings tattoo poking out from her tank top.

She sniffled and quickly wiped the tears away, but he had already seen them. He laid a hand on her arm and she relaxed underneath his touch. "Why are you crying?"

Her greyish-green eyes met his cerulean blue ones. "I had a dream..." she replied quietly, looking away.

"A bad one?"

"No...it was a good one." She sniffled again and dried them before she rolled onto her back and sat up against the pillows. "It's been a long time since I came across that memory..."

"Which memory?" he traced a finger along her jawline, earning a small shiver from her.

"The first part was when we met and the second was when I found Lillianne in Alabasta." she answered. "They were good memories."

He pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head. "Good memories are better than bad ones."

She sighed and closed her eyes, relaxing into his hold.


	5. HeLp mE

**HeLp mE**

The only thing Firebrand knew he had to do was to keep the young woman away from the Collective at all times. She was under his protection now and no way in hell was he going to let the Observer or the rest of the collective get their filthy hands on her. He was just relieved that he was able to get her away before the Observer could arrive at her home to take her away.

"_They're coming to take me away. This is goodbye..." _

The rogue Proxy frowned deeply at the thought and shook it away from his mind. He sighed softly and left the bathroom, turning off the light as he went. He glanced at the 20-year old lying in the bed, sleeping. She was lying on a mixture of her left side and her stomach, her arms bent up to her chest comfortably.

Firebrand noticed she had been sleeping a lot the last few days and she had told him that she wasn't feeling good. Firebrand knew it was probably just a sickness that was nothing to worry about. A lot of rest and plenty of fluids, then she would be good as new. He sighed softly and walked around the other side of the bed so he could lie down as well.

He had no need for sleep and Shell needed it more than him, especially if she was becoming ill. He propped himself up on the pillows, his bright pinhole eyes staring up at the ceiling. He felt Shell shift in her sleep and he glanced over to watch as she rolled onto her stomach, her arms underneath the pillow. Her long hair was spread all over her back and onto the mattress.

Firebrand put his gaze back to the ceiling, suddenly finding it very interesting. He closed his eyes, only to rest, not to sleep.

It was a few hours into the night, around four in the morning, when he felt Shell's weight quickly leave the bed. Firebrand opened his eyes and sat up, his hearing picking up the sound of vomiting coming from the bathroom.

The rogue left the bed and made his way into the bathroom. Shell must've turned the light on as she ran in. He knelt down beside her as she retched up whatever she had eaten that day and pulled her dark brown locks out of her face. Once she finally did stop, she held a hand to her stomach as she groaned. "C..can you get me some water...?"

Firebrand nodded and left her alone for only a moment to grab a bottle of water from the mini fridge they had in their hotel room. He gave her the water so she could wash her mouth out. She sighed once she did and put the half empty bottle down, slumping against the tub. "Fuck..." She muttered angrily. "I hate being sick..."

"Which is why you need plenty of rest." The rogue said and stood up, only to lean down and scoop the woman into his arms, carrying her back to the bed and making sure to turn the light off when he left. He laid her down on the bed and then to her surprise, he actually got on the bed and snuggled her to his warm chest. He didn't want to smother her, but knowing that being warm would normally rule out a fever was a fact.

Shell was still for a moment, but then she relaxed in his grip and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she fell into a deep slumber, curled up against his chest. Firebrand let a soft sigh escape him and leaned back against the pillows, getting comfortable. He closed his pinhole eyes again.

One moment he was resting and the next, he heard a loud thud. He jumped, realizing Shell was on the floor and not in his arms. She was on her back and was writhing, her face etched in way that would tell another that she was in pain. A black liquid began to trickle down her mouth and she had began to wheeze and gasp.

Firebrand flew off the bed to her side. If he did not act quickly, she would choke on whatever liquid that was coming out of her mouth. The black liquid was now coming out of her mouth more and he rolled her onto her side to try and get the liquid out of her system. To his horror, it also began to come out of her eyes, trailing down her cheeks like horrible tears.

She coughed up the blood liquid violently, not finding the time to speak or even take a breath. The coughs racked her body and Firebrand did not know what to do. He felt...worthless, that he couldn't do anything to help. He was trying not to panic...panic? Since when did he panic?

Shell finally stopped coughing, but she turned onto her back. Her face was very pale and she was wheezing loudly, her chest slowly rising and falling with each breath she took. His arm went around her shoulders, lifting her up in an attempt to get her to breathe better.

"A...am I...d-dying...?" She wheezed, her eyes looking up at him.

He knew she was dying, as he could feel her heart becoming slower and slower by the moment. He used his free hand to grab hers and squeeze it. He wanted to say everything was going to be alright, even though it wouldn't be. Someone under his protection was going to die and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"No, you are not dying, not now..." He found himself lying, looking down at her with his bright, pinhole eyes.

A small relieved smile crossed her face and she squeezed his hand as much as she could, which actually was not very tight. "G...good...I don't wanna die..." She wheezed. "I-I still have things to do...I'm...I'm under your protection Firebrand...y...you wouldn't let me die..."

The last few words she had said were very faint and he watched in horror as her eyes slowly closed. A single tear rolled down her cheek as the grip on his hand went limp. Her heart took its last beat and then...

Silence.

It took Firebrand a long moment or two to realize that the young woman in his arms was gone. He found himself trembling. He told her, he even PROMISED that she wouldn't die. And now he broke that promise. This was going to haunt him for the rest of whatever life he lived.

All he could do was tremble and hold the body of the young woman to him.

…...

Firebrand glanced around the apartment silently. This place brought back too many memories, all of the young woman who he had under his protection a day ago. He knew it would be better to just forget about it and move on. He whirled around to leave when a hand suddenly wrapped around his throat, cutting off his air circulation. Not that it would kill him anyway.

His bright pinhole eyes narrowed as he glared at the shadow being in front of him. "What the fuck do you want Observer?"

"The girl. Where is she?"

"Dead." The rogue Proxy replied, his hands going up to the one around his neck. His hands grasped the wrist belonging to the Black Rook. The Observer merely tightened his grip, soon his free hand joining his other one around Firebrand's neck, squeezing tightly.

Firebrand's hearing picked up a strange, faint noise coming from the laptop lying on the end of the couch. Then, a loud screeching sound came from the portable, electrical device. Both him and the Observer turned their attention to the laptop. It was open and the screen was black, but there were lines waving back and forth on the screen.

Then suddenly, a black liquid started to come out of the screen. Firebrand's pinhole eyes slightly widened as he watched the liquid spill from the laptop and onto the floor, staining the carpet. The screen rippled and then a hand came through the screen.

Both shadows watched as a body covered in the black liquid crawled out of the laptop screen and onto the floor. The body seemed to writhe and Firebrand noticed the body figure was indeed female. Strangely, it was the same black liquid that had leaked from Shell's mouth and eyes.

Firebrand was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the Observer let out a loud, pain-filled shriek. The rogue looked over and his jaw nearly dropped when he saw Observer missing his entire right arm. He glanced over at the body, which was holding the ripped off arm in its hand.

"Fuck!" The Observer swore out and then vanished from the apartment.

Firebrand couldn't help but just stand there, nearly frozen like a statue. The body of the person dropped the arm and then it's invisible gaze turned to him.

_"͏̞͍̱̩̱͚̺F̛̥͉̖̮̫̝̞i̫̮̹r͎͙̣͈̯̟̙e͕͕̳͚͖̪̖br̮͇̹͍a͙̼̹n͡d̷̮̳͈͖.̞.̫̱̦͖́.͏̭̜̮̪ͅ.̨̺̣̞͕"̟͇͔ ̧̻̺͉ͅ _

He blinked once, hearing a female voice come from the body. The black liquid vanished, leaving the appearance of a girl, a girl Firebrand was all too familiar with. She looked mostly the same, except her eyes were black with a red dot that seemed to be her pupil. The same black liquid was trailing down her eyes and her mouth.

"Shell...?" He finally found his voice.

A broken smile came upon her face and as she spoke, he noticed her voice was distorted. _"̛̲̝̱̘̤Y̵̤͈̼e̳̙͎̬̤àh̰͔̤̭͇͇.̦̲̭̳̩̙̱̕.̭̭̙͎͓̳̪.̤͔̪̥̪̹ͅ.͏̘̣̙̠̲̯ͅme̜͖͖͓̜.̩̬̝̟̠͚.̗̫̬̝ͅ.͖͎̩̗̖̺.̺̣̞̹̹͢ͅ"̭ ͝_

"Shell...you..." Firebrand tried to speak, but he was almost at a loss for words. A girl he watched die was standing right here in front of him, not alive...but how could she not be alive?

_"I̴ am͜ d͞e̛a̶d ̨Fir̴ebr̛a͘nd..̢.̡..̵bu͟t̴ i͞t́ ̶d͢oe̢sn't̡ ́m̵ean ́I̕'̢m ͘not̴ wa͡tch͜iǹg.̢"_She spoke, her voice seeming more broken and distorted. She suddenly let out a wince as her form began to flicker. He saw her arms begin to form boxes, as if she was disappearing.

"Does it hurt...?" The rogue approached her, wanting to touch her, but at the same time, not believing his eyes. Maybe he really was going mad.

_"A ̶b̨i͘t҉..̢.͠.͘.be͠ín͝g ͡i͞n ͝t̛h҉i̕ś ͏s҉ta̕t̶e ̡d̵oe̴s̡ ͝hur̵t.͡.̷...it̴ hur̨ts̛ ̧a̛ ͜l̵ot.̡.̕.̢" ͝_She replied, looking up at him with her black eyes. Her form flickered again and the boxes appeared again as she glitched more. _"͢Fi͟r͘eb͘r̕an̶d͟.̵...̢hel͘p̀ m҉e.͡..͟.i͝t̴ hurts so much.̛.͞.I mis͏s̡ y̵ou..̧..̢it͢ hu̢rt̀s͝ ̧so̷ ͡fu͞ck͞i҉n̕g m̀u̕c̕h̛..͘..I҉ ̧wanna͝ ͏be͡ al̢iv̵e...͏.̶n̴ot̸ ͏t͡h̛is ̴T͞H͟I͏N͘G.̶.͝.̕.̷"͢_

Black tears rolled down her cheeks and she reached out to him, her arms mostly gone except for her hands and shoulders. Firebrand went forwards and he wrapped his arms around her fading form. He didn't know what to say. "I will help you...do not leave Shell..."

She laughed brokenly. _"̴Ţo̴o̕ ̶l̷a̷te.͜..̡...̢.He̵L͏p mĘ..͠.͝.̕" ̕_She whispered and then without warning, she completely vanished from his hold.

Firebrand only stared at the space where she had been. He heard a loud shrieking noise and turned his attention to the laptop, where he saw the young woman inside. The black liquid was falling from her eyes and mouth more and she looked horrified.

_"͜HE͢L̴P҉ MȨ.̢.̨...͜"͝_


	6. I'll Stand my Ground

**I'll Stand my Ground**

**Summary: **In an attempt to kill Akainu, Shell goes after him and instead, gets handed off to Kizaru. Takes place during the Whitebeard War.

**Anime/manga: **One Piece

**Category: **drama

**Pairings: **DoflaxShell

…**.**

Shell could only watch in horror as Luffy let out the most, gut-wrenching cry when his brother fell from his arms and onto the ground, a giant hole in his back and chest. Akainu stood away from Luffy as his body turned to magma.

Luffy's screaming stopped abruptly and Ivankov cried out. "Straw Hat boy!"

_Luffy's mind has shattered! He's in complete danger! _Ivankov thought. All of a sudden, the atmosphere became so think with tension that some of the lower marines gasped. He glanced over and saw the dark aura begin to surround Shell. Her head was hanging, her hair hiding her face. Her hands were curled into tight fists so much her knuckles were completely white.

_Oh-no….._Ivankov thought.

Whitebeard looked up from his tears and saw the aura beginning to ascend to the sky. _Shelby? _He thought.

Akainu was too busy worrying about Luffy that he forgot about Shell. He lunged at the incapacitated Luffy, intending to kill him once and for all…until Marco intervened.

"Get Ace's brother out of here!" Marco shouted.

Meanwhile, Doflamingo, who was sitting on a small hill of corpses, felt the tension in the atmosphere change. He looked up and saw a dark aura. "Shell?"

Akainu finally felt the aura and was too late until Shell appeared right in front of him, her fist ready to connect with his face. He saw the look of pure anger on her face and didn't get time to dodge as her fist connected harshly with his face and sent him flying through the air.

The pirates and marines that were watching were shocked at how strong the punch was. The aura surrounding the infamous Queen of Shadows was powerful and could make even the most powerful pirate sweat.

She glanced at the Whitebeard pirates and they all shivered. "What are you lot staring at? GET LUFFY OUT OF HERE!"

"Y-YES MA'AM!" They all shouted and Jimbei grabbed Luffy and fled.

Akainu was just getting up when he saw Shell look at him. The look in her eyes showed pure, murderous intent. Of course, she was in the infamous Queen of Shadows and Doflamingo's lover.

However, it didn't matter. Akainu thought all pirates deserved to die. He stood up to his full height, towering over her. "You think you're better than me? You're a pirate!"

She glared at him harshly. "You're going to die. If it isn't by my hands, it will be by Whitebeard's."

Akainu scoffed and charged at her, fist turning to magma. "You're a fool for challenging me Hartford!"

"S-she's dead!" a pirate exclaimed.

And then she vanished.

"Huh?" Akainu questioned when she had finished and looked above. Her boot came down on his face, sending him face-first to the ground. She wasn't even using her full strength!

"Just how strong is she?!"

"Her bounty is 340,000,000 berries, the same as Doflamingo's!"

"Get up." Shell snarled, moving away from Akainu. "I want to see the look on your face when I kill you."

Akainu snarled and thrusted his hand out. "Inugami Guren!" he shouted and a wave of magma came out from his hand in the shape of a dog's head, with jaw's wide open and ready to strike.

She growled, showing her teeth and jumped backwards, shoving a wall of darkness in front of her. The magma hit the wall and disintegrated, causing Akainu to gasp. Magma was stronger than fire, but how could darkness be stronger?!

It wasn't a Devil Fruit! Blackbeard had the Dark-Dark Fruit!

"Let's end this." Shell cracked her fingers and lunged, only for a beam of light to go through her side. She gasped, her eyes widening as the beam disappeared and she fell to the ground, clutching her side.

Akainu looked over as Kizaru chuckled. "Go after Straw Hat. I'll take care of Hartford." He said and Akainu went after Straw Hat.

Shell snarled and got up, glaring at Kizaru. "Don't get in my way!" she shouted angrily and threw a mass of darkness at him. Kizaru easily blocked it with his Devil Fruit powers.

He put both hands together and then out, forming a giant sword of light. Her eyes narrowed. "Looks like I'll have to kill you first." She snarled and brought out her sword.

Both of them lunged at each other and swords clashed heavily. She snarled and swung, intending to slit his throat, but he dodged clearly and then cut into her arm deeply. Shell jumped back, looking down at her arm.

"And there's more where that came from." Kizaru chuckled.

She glared at him and touched the blade of her sword, engulfing it in darkness. She yelled out and swung, her sword clashing with his. The darkness spread out and formed into spikes, intending to impale Kizaru's face. But he ducked and swung his sword again, slicing into her forehead.

She jumped back. _Damn! He's gotten two hits on me and I haven't gotten any on him. He's stronger than Akainu. _She thought, feeling blood drip down her face. She placed her sword in front of her, the blade extended towards Kizaru. Darkness, blue lightning and black and blue flames began swirling around the blade, causing Kizaru to quirk an eyebrow.

"Let's see you dodge this. Sutoraiku o korosu!" (Translation from Japanese: Killing Strike) she shouted and a giant blast came out from the tip of her sword and heading right for Kizaru. His eyes widened and then the blast hit him, sending him flying backwards and exploding right into Marine Headquarters.

Shell sheathed her sword and then went after Akainu. All of a sudden, a disheveled Kizaru appeared right in front of her, the sword of light in his hand. She gasped and he chuckled. "That was a nice, powerful attack Miss Hartford. But I'm afraid it wasn't enough." And he plunged his sword through her side.

Her scream of pain echoed throughout the area, causing some pirates and marines to stop what they were doing. Kizaru chuckled and grabbed her hair, yanking his sword out. "Pathetic. And you have the same bounty as Doflamingo."

Bleeding heavily from her side, she glared up at him and Kizaru quirked an eyebrow. "How amusing. You have the same fire in your eyes as Straw Hat did when he tried to rescue Ace. But it doesn't matter anymore." He touched the blade of his light sword to her cheek and moved it slightly, drawing a thin line of blood.

She winced a little bit, but refused to stand up. "I'm going to kill you, Akainu and the rest of the marines and World Government if they get in my way. I'll avenge Ace's death and there's nothing, you or anybody else…can do about it."

Kizaru smiled. "You're very strong, I will admit that." He tightened his grip on her hair, lifting her up and causing her to wince loudly. "But you're not strong enough." And he threw her away. She stopped on her uninjured side, but managed to get up. "And yet, you still try to fight." He lifted his foot up, causing light to appear. "Goodbye, Miss Hartford."

Shell snarled and ran towards him, ignoring her wounds. The other pirates and marines gasped as she ran at Kizaru head on, darkness appearing in her hand.

"She's dead!"

"Shell-san, stop!" Ivankov yelled, but she just continued. "Death….Wink!" he shouted and winked, causing the blast of air to collide into Shell and save her from Kizaru's attack as it blasted right beside her.

She snarled and went after him again. He scoffed and threw his leg back; kicking it forwards and hearing it connect with her side, right above her ribs. He felt and heard a satisfying crack and her scream, sending her flying backwards.

She stopped on her injured side and groaned in pain, trying to get up. When she tried to, her ribs screamed out in pain and she collapsed. "Damnit…!" she whispered as Kizaru approached her.

He lifted his leg, light appearing on the bottom, preparing for the final strike. "Any last words, Miss Hartford?"

"Yeah," she replied and coughed a little. "Two words. Fuck you."

"A fighter to the very end." He chuckled and his foot came down.

That's when sand erupted from the ground and sliced Kizaru in half. His eyes were wide with surprise and mine also. Kizaru's body erupted into millions of tiny light particles and reformed 200 feet away from me as the sand came out of the ground and formed into Crocodile.

He glanced down at the 28-year old. "You took quite a beating Shelby."

She grinned. "Yeah well," she coughed a little. "That's what happens when you fight against someone with a strong Devil Fruit."

"SHELL!"

Shell's gaze turned away from her father-figure to her lover, who skidded on the ground reaching for her. "Shell-bell! Oh my poor angel!" the blonde cried and when he tried to lift her up, she hissed in pain. Doflamingo's glare went to Kizaru.

"Where's…Akainu?" she wheezed, clutching her ribs. It was hard to breathe.

"Shell, you have more important things to worry about." Doflamingo brushed the blood-matted locks away from her face. "Man….you still look like a goddess of war."

"Doflamingo," Crocodile interrupted the conversation. "What's your relationship with Shelby?"

"Huh? Oh, she probably never told you." The blonde grinned. "We're together."

Shell felt the air become thick, not like before, but thick. And then it lessoned. Crocodile held up the hook menacingly and glared at Doflamingo. "If she so much as sheds a tear…I'll run you through."

Doflamingo was not fazed by the large, golden hook that threatened to run him through.

Shell struggled as she tried to get up and finally did. "AKAINU!" she shouted out in anger and ran after him. She heard both Doflamingo and Crocodile call out for her to stop, but then she felt two beams of light go right through her chest. She coughed up blood and then hit the ground with a thud.

"The Queen of Shadows is down!" a pirate exclaimed.

Through blurred vision, Shell saw Whitebeard pummel down on Akainu. She smirked weakly. "Thanks Pops….." she mumbled before blacking out.

…..

About two hours later, in the medical bay, Doflamingo heard a scream, followed by hysterical shouting. "Miss Hartford, you can't leave! You'll bleed to death!"

"Get the fuck out of my way!"

The blonde heard a punch and the nurse went flying through the doors and hit the wall, sliding to the ground and was out-cold. Shell came out of the infirmary room, still bleeding and panting heavily.

"Where is he?!" she shouted, stumbling towards Doflamingo. "Where the fuck is Akainu?!"

He was surprised to see that she was even trying to walk around, considering how injured she was. "You damn bird!" she snarled, grabbing his shirt. "Tell me where Akainu is! I'm gonna rip out his fucking throat!"

Then, she made a noise like a groan and then she coughed and blood splattered all over the front of his shirt and pants. She gave a weak groan and then fell right into his arms, blacking out instantly.

He sighed as the nurses ran over and told one to get him fresh clothes.

Later on that night, everything was quiet.

And then there was a blood-curdling scream.

Shell woke up, sweating and panting and crying until Doflamingo came to her side. "Where am I?" she croaked.

"The medical bay." He replied and brushed the hair away from her face. "You've been out most the night. How's the pain?"

She groaned. "It's like a very dull ache. What happened? Did Akainu die?"

He frowned a little. "No, but Whitebeard was killed by Blackbeard."

"What?!" she shrieked and sat up, but he quickly but gently pushed her back down. "Get off Doflamingo! I'm gonna fucking kill Blackbeard and then Akainu!"

"Shell," he grabbed both of her hands and gently pinned them down on the mattress. "There's nothing you can do for Whitebeard…or Ace."

Her bottom lip quivered and then she began to cry. He got off and then pulled her to him, cradling her. She felt so weak, for not being strong enough against Kizaru, not being able to kill Akainu or avenge Ace.

And now Pops was dead.


	7. Not the Good Guy

**Not the Good Guy**

HABIT is not the good guy. He never has and never will be.

He ate Evan's baby girl and his lover Stephanie. He's a cannibal, a maniac, a psychopathic liar. He kills for fun, uses people as pawns for his own personal gain. Even me.

I do not know what he wants from me, though I do have a hunch it is either my ability or the darker side of me. Both would make him powerful. He's not the good guy, why would you EVER think that he's the good guy?

He is mankind's bad HABIT. He was born from the world's most worst serial killers. He's a rapist, a cannibal, any kind of bad word you can think of. He may be 'protecting' me from the Collective and whatever the hell they want from me, but trust me, he's not the world's best protector.

He hurt me, he raped me, he took my right eye. He has hurt countless people. He hurt Evan, he killed Jeff and Alex. He has done horrible things to so many people and you think he is a good guy?

What the fuck is wrong with you?

How can you EVER consider HABIT a good guy? HE ATE A BABY.

You think "Oh, he's helping Noah, so he's really a good guy!"

WRONG!

HABIT is not a good guy, not now, not fucking ever. He gets off on tormenting people and how the fuck is that attractive? Sure, he may be in my potential love interest's body and people may think HABIT is attractive right there, but he is NOT.

Get it through your thick, fucking skulls that HABIT is not the good guy.

Or I'll have him come knife you in the most painful way possible.


	8. Punishment

**Punishment**

Tenebrae knew she was in deep shit. Very deep shit. She failed a mission. And the Keeper was NEVER happy when one of his proxies failed their mission. Tenebrae slowly walked into Collective territory, holding her wounded arm. She was covered in blood, her own blood.

Maybe if she teleported away, she would be able to avoid punishment.

"Tenebrae,"

The girl froze when the voice of the Observer came into her ears. She slowly turned around, facing the taller Collective member. "...Yes?"

"The Keeper would like to speak with you. Follow me."

Tenebrae felt her heart speed up. There was no way she could escape from punishment. Plus, she didn't have enough energy to teleport. She barely had any to come back to the Collective's realm, but had to with the last of what energy she had.

Tenebrae swallowed thickly and nodded, then followed the Observer into a thickness of trees. It only took two minutes before they came into one of the many forest clearings. With the Keeper and Deadhead standing in the middle of the clearing. _Oh fuck..._Tenebrae thought.

She and the Observer stopped about a good ten feet away from their master and Deadhead. The Tall One tilted his head to the side slightly, his eyeless gaze never leaving the Darkener. Then he straightened his posture and spoke in a deep voice that sounded like many voices at once. His voice came inside their heads mentally. _"Do you know why I have called you here Tenebrae?" _

"...Y...yes sir..." Her voice was a bit shaky.

"_Then you know what has happened?" _

She nodded.

"_Very well then. Are you prepared for your punishment?" _

"...Yes..."

The Keeper seemed to give a mental order to the Observer and Deadhead, because the two proxies came forwards and forced Tenebrae onto her knees, slightly bending her back over. The Observer tapped her back lightly and all six of her tendrils came out. Without warning, Deadhead grabbed the one closest to him and ripped it right out of her back.

Tenebrae squeezed her good eye shut as massive pain erupted in her back. Her tendrils were very sensitive, to both pleasure and pain. The Observer ripped out a second tendril from her back and soon, her back was bleeding from her tendrils being ripped out. Thankfully, they would heal within a couple days.

Tenebrae let out a deep breath that she had been holding in when they started the punishment. She let out a deep sigh, but then gasped when she was forced to stand up and the Keeper walked-no, glided over to her. He towered over her small frame and a tendril came from his back and wrapped around her head and neck to keep her from moving. "S...sir?" She squeaked.

"_Did I say your punishment was over?" _The static buzzed in her ears and her head painfully. Two long, skinny fingers forced her eye open.

"W...wait...s-sir, please..." She tried to shake her head to get the Tall One to let go of her. His other hand hovered just above her good eye. "P-please, no! PLEASE!"

Without warning, her eyeball was snatched right out of its socket, rendering her blind. Tenebrae screamed out in agony and she was released. She fell to the grass, holding her hands to her now empty left eye socket. She couldn't see, but only hear. She could feel warm blood coating her fingers.

"_The next time you fail a mission, the punishment will be worse." _The Keeper spoke and then vanished.

The Observer walked over, smirking down darkly at the blind girl. "You don't fail a mission and expect our master to just slap you on the wrist, did you? No, you were wrong." He crouched down and grabbed handful of her black hair roughly, yanking painfully. "Perhaps next time I'll get to rip off one of your limbs."

He let go of her and kicked her in the chest, sending her down to the ground. He cackled and vanished with Deadhead, leaving Tenebrae alone, wounded and blind.

The girl laid there, crying softly. Blood was still seeping from her back and eye slowly. Tenebrae's enhanced hearing picked up footsteps and then she screamed when hands grabbed her arms. "It's okay Tenebrae, it's me!"

She stopped screaming when she recognized Firebrand's voice. "F...Firebrand?"

She could feel his eyes looking over her. "Jesus fucking Christ, what happened to you...?"

"I...I failed a mission..." Tenebrae whimpered and Firebrand knew what she meant. Whenever a proxy failed a mission, they were punished for it. The severity of the punishment depended on what the mission was and how important it was. Looking at the girl's wounds, Firebrand would've guessed right on the spot that she had failed an important mission.

"Come on..." Firebrand gently helped the wounded girl up. She held onto him, crying out softly and whimpering from the massive pain. The worst pain she felt was when she died...crushed by a semi and when she was turned into a member of the Collective. The only thing Tenebrae could do now was to rest. It would take her a few days to heal fully from all her wounds.

Thank god they had accelerated healing.

Firebrand knew both he and Tenebrae wanted their freedom. And Firebrand had a plan to just do that.


	9. Sick

**Sick**

A series of coughs came from the dark couch sitting against the wall in the dark living room. A young brunette laid there, shivering and wrapped up tightly in a thick blanket. A few beads of sweat rolled down her face as she had her eyes scrunched closed tightly. She felt so weak and so fucking sick. She groaned softly, burying her face in her arm.

The shivers racked her body violently. She knew the fever that ravaged her body was high. Too high and it could put her into a coma, or even kill her. It had been a little while since Firebrand had left. Since then, the engraving on her abdomen has not bothered her one bit. It was not wrapped up in bandages at the moment, scarring over smoothly.

_God I hate being fucking sick...fucking weak...fuck everything..._Shell thought with a groan. She tried to ignore the shivers and fever raging through her body to try and get some rest, wrapping the blanket tighter around her form.

Due to her hazy environment, she did not notice a familiar shadow approaching her on the couch. The shadow's bright, pinhole eyes observed her shaking form. Sick. She was ill. Humans got ill, a disadvantage to humans. Firebrand kneeled down beside the shaking woman and reached up with one hand, placing it across her forehead.

Shell flinched visibly, recoiling from the rogue's warm hand. Her hazel orbs opened, revealing a very dull and weak look in them. "Firebrand...?" She murmured, too weak to even speak. "What...are you doing here...?"

"I...merely came to check on you." The rogue replied, frowning upon feeling hot hot her skin was. His inner body temperature was 103 degrees and her fever was probably about 101. "How long have you had this..?" He asked.

The woman shrugged. "Dunno, maybe since this morning..." She coughed and shivered, closing her eyes tightly again.

Firebrand let a small frown cross the shadows of his concealed face. He stood up and walked to the bathroom. He felt the area was all too familiar to him. It was only just a couple weeks when he left, but he remembered everything clearly. He could remember how Shell's blood felt when he touched the bleeding engraving on her abdomen.

He opened the medicine cabinet that stood over the sink and searched for any sort of painkiller that would help with a fever. He found a bottle of Ibuprofen and rattled it in his hand. It was halfway full of pills. _Two will be enough...unless she needs more later. _He thought to himself and closed the medicine cabinet and shut the light off as he left the bathroom.

He got a glass of cold water from the kitchen and walked back over to Shell, who continued to tremble as her immune system struggled to fight off the infection in her small body. His hand touched her arm and rolled her onto her back. He set the water and the pills down for a moment, then put his arm under her shoulders and lifted her up enough so she could swallow properly.

Her hazel eyes opened slightly when she felt a couple of pills at her lips. "Take these." The shadow instructed.

She opened her mouth and took the pills in, then gently drank the water when the glass was placed at her lips. The water eased the pills down her throat as she swallowed. Firebrand set the glass of water down on the end table next to the couch and then he scooped the woman into his arms.

Shell closed her eyes upon the act and when she opened them, the rogue was placing a cold washcloth over her burning forehead. Her eyes went over to him. She noticed she was in her bed. "Thank you..." She said weakly, closing her eyes yet again. She was so exhausted.

"Don't mention it." He nodded and grabbed a chair, sitting on it next to the bed.

She opened her eyes upon hearing the legs of the chair scrap against the floor quietly. She glanced up at him slightly. "You can...sit on the bed, if you want..."

Firebrand shook his head at her statement. "No, it would not be a good idea. My inner body temperature is 103. I would only smother you."

"Please...?" Shell looked right into his pin hole eyes.

The rogue was silent for a moment, musing over the thought. She needed to stay warm, at least. It was a few moments before he finally let out a soft sigh and nodded. He stood up and got onto the bed, making himself comfortable. He sat up slightly, using the pillows for support. Shell scooted closer to him and closed her eyes once she had her body pressed against his side.

Firebrand was still wary of the woman getting attached to him. He was not a person to become close to, not with who he was, an abomination. A rogue god. He already endangered her life with his presence, knowing Observer was keeping tabs on her. He glanced down at the woman pressed against his side. She had fallen asleep already.

A small frown crossed his features. He couldn't let her get attached, no matter what. It would only serve to endanger her more and if Observer knew what was going on, the fucker would take great pleasure in tormenting her. Probably until she begged for death. The shadow slowly reached his hand down and placed it on the side of Shell's head. His fingers felt her feverish skin and trailed into her hair slightly.

She shuddered upon his hand. _Sensitive scalp..._He thought, starting to take his hand away. But when she slightly nudged his hand, he stopped moving it away. Once again, he could not let her get attached. But...just this time...

He kept his hand in her hair, lightly running his shadowed fingers through the dark brown locks. Shell seemed to fall into a deeper, more peaceful sleep as he did so. He sighed softly and leaned his head back, pin hole eyes staring up at the ceiling.

He could enjoy the peace...for now.


	10. The Crooked Man

**The Crooked Man (RP w/ Koosylover99)**

It was a slightly cold day in October. Shell was walking through the park, listening to her music. She didn't really pay attention to anything except her music.

"STOP! FREEZE!" she suddenly heard someone holler, and before she knew it a man, presumably the culprit, pushed Shell out of the way, and continued running in a style similar to the Roadrunner.

Shell yelped as she was pushed to the hard ground, scraping her palms. She gritted her teeth. "ASSHOLE!" She yelled at the man, sitting up.

"DON'T GET UP, LOOK OUT!" she turned and a girl was skidding her way, trying to stop, but she ended up tripping over a crack in the sidewalk and tumbling onto Shell.

Shell yelped again as a girl tumbled right into her, sending her right back to the ground. She groaned and growled out in anger.

"Oh, s-sorry! I didn't see you!" she quickly apologized, touching her face to realize she was missing something. "Oh, geez... My glasses!" She started feeling around for them. "Hey, help me find them, would ya please?"

"Sure..." Shell grumbled and looked around for a pair of glasses. She found a pair and picked them up, handing them to the girl. "Here."

She put them on, then shook her head to fix her hair. When she opened her eyes, Shell was surprised to see that they were a bright mutated purple. "Thanks! Sorry for running into you like that... I guess I know better than to give chase in public."

Shell only raised an eyebrow at the girl's purple eyes, but otherwise said nothing. "It's fine..." She lightly rumbled her bleeding palms to get them to stop bleeding.

"Hey, look I'm really sorry about that. I was chasing my brother and it... Kind of got out of control... she rubbed the back of her neck and grinned awkwardly. "But I have some band aids in my backpack if you want them."

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Shell said, looking at the girl. "Why were you chasing your brother?

"Well... Ah, you wouldn't believe me if I told y- WAAUGH!" she was suddenly pulled up into one of the trees, leaving a few leaves floating down to where she stood.

Shell blinked, staring at the spot where the girl had just been a second ago. A bit of scuffling was heard, then a rather snappish conversation went on.

"Bruce, you asshat!"

"You're getting too slow and lazy. And your guard was down."

"I had to apologize for what you did!"

"It was an accident!"

"You should have apologized, it's not like she can see what you are!"

Shell narrowed her eyes and kicked the tree hard. The girl came toppling out of the tree, her ankle held by what looked like a very large blue and black striped snake tail. She looked pretty awkward. "Hi."

"Hey." Shell said slowly.

The tail then dropped the girl, and curled around Shell's waist, quickly hoisting her into the tree. Shell yelped as she was pulled into the tree. The man that had pushed her down was in the tree, however he wasn't exactly a man. Where his legs would be was replaced by a long huge snake tail, and he studied Shell, poking and prodding at her curiously. He had the same orange color hair as the girl below, minus the colored dyes, but had pale blue eyes with slits. "... You're not a normal human. Rae-rae, you lied to me!"

This guy was a Naga? Shell blinked, staring at him. She had never seen one until now. She growled when he poked and prodded at her. "Of course I'm not a normal human. Anybody who ain't human would get that."

"Oh, clap clap the human knows about a gift," the naga rolled his eyes, leaning against the tree.

The other girl had took her time climbing up the tree, panting and tired by the time she got up there. "Bruce, you dolt. That kinda hurt.."

Shell squirmed a bit in the naga's hold. She wasn't liking being held by a huge ass tail that could crush her easily. The last time she was held by something with a long tail, it tried to eat her. The naga called Bruce suddenly seemed to actually notice Shell. "Oh, yeah you and her have been introduced. I'm Bruce and this-" he grabbed the girl and started to noogie her "-is my itty bitty tiny whiny Rae-Rae!"

The girl was unamused. "Joey-Rae. What's your name?"

"Shell. Can you put me down?" She looked at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine." He unwrapped his tail from around her, but left her on the branch. He moved up to the upper level of branches for more room, leaving Joey-Rae and Shell on that branch.

"Sorry about that, Shell. Brothers, you know."

"Yeah, it's alright." Shell said. "So a Naga huh? First time I've ever seen one..."

"Just the demon form that was chosen for him. He's the sin of... er... Lust... So the snake was chosen because the original sin of lust was the snake that tempted Eve some millenia ago."

"True, but that's neat." Shell sat on the branch. "I wasn't being rude, but the last time I got held by something with a long tail, it tried to eat me."

"Welcome to my world. Every day I risk getting hypnotized, eaten, shot, or blown up or some weird shit. I'm a private eye for both this world and the supernatural world, so it's an occupational hazard."

"Really?" Shell asked. "The supernatural are attracted to me...I fight for my life every day."

"Wow. You must get a lot of jerks your way then," she chuckled, then cleared her throat. "Anyway, I want to make this up to ya, for causing all this. Can I offer you some ice cream?"

"Sure." Shell nodded and jumped off the tree, landing on her feet with a grunt. "I get a lot of perverts too."

"Oh, wait. Just a sec. Hey Bruce, can I borrow some money?"

"You're gonna pay me back, right?"

"No... But if you don't I'll tell everyone what happened when I first met you again after eight fucking years."

"... Here, just take my entire damn wallet." It drops down from the tree.

Shell caught the wallet when it dropped and handed it to Joey-Rae. Later at the ice cream shop, Joey-Rae is sipping at a blueberry milkshake. Shell was eating some strawberry ice cream.

"So... I was actually going to take a case this week... And I think you may be interested."

"Go on." Shell looked at the younger girl.

"There's this abandoned hotel... And there's something in there that's making it really hard for anyone to go in there. I think it may be something supernatural. I'm surprised at how quick you were able to connect with Bruce, so I think that you may be able to communicate with it."

"Hmmm. I can try. It's probably a restless spirit." Shell said thoughtfully. "I don't even have to do anything to attract them, they just come to me."

"They can come to me, I can communicate with them, but that doesn't mean I can ask them for anything."

Shell nodded in agreement. "When do you wanna head to the hotel?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." She put a bill on the table to pay for their ice cream. "Look up The Crooked Man, and research as much as you can. But get some sleep too, and pack supplies. We may be dealing with something that isn't exactly going to be as quiet as a graveyard ghost."

"Alright." Shell nodded. "Do you wanna meet here tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sure. I'll be giving you a ride to the hotel."

"Okay." She nodded and said goodbye, then left for her apartment. The next day, Joey-Rae was there waiting for her in an orange pickup truck. Shell had packed a backpack of supplies and got into the truck once she got to the ice cream shop. Joey-Rae was messing around with a .45 magnum, cleaning it and making sure it's ready to be used.

"Nice gun." Shell commented.

"Thanks. It fires silver bullets, and I can shoot them and reload faster than it takes for a machine gun to go a full round. The silver bullets are also reusable, the institution is trying to think green."

"Hmm, interesting." Shell nodded.

She drove while listening to her i-Pod which could plug into her radio. It was playing many variations of dubstep.

Shell watched the scenery pass by as Joey-Rae drove. The scenery gradually got darker and more secluded, even becoming rotted in some points. "Oh geez... This is kind of... Wow..."

"Creepy." Shell finished.

"Eeyup. She agreed.

It wasn't long before a creepy looking hotel came into view. "This must be the place." she unbuckled when they parked and then put her gun into her holster. Shell got out and grabbed her bag, putting it onto her back. Joey-Rae walked up to the door, and pushed on it. When it didn't budge, she narrowed her eyes and stepped back. "Stand back, I'm going to bust it down."

Shell nodded and stood back.

She started running at it, but at the last moment is creaked open and she ended up tumbling comically into the building. "MY LEG!"

Shell rolled her eyes and walked in, looking down at the girl. "You okay?"

"Let me check," she looked down at herself,. "Yeah, actually, I'm pretty good."

"Good." Shell glanced around the area.

She also got up, shivering. "I feel like the dam's about to bust at any moment."

"Creepy place..." Shell said.

"Follow me. I think this way is a bedroom."

She nodded and followed the younger girl. "Hey... You don't mind, can I put on my music? Makes the place feel less empty, I've found out."

"I don't mind." Shell replied.

She started playing Foozogz's Smile VIP song, which echoed throughout the hotel. They found a bedroom and Shell plopped down on the couch. Joey-Rae walked around for a bit, looking in the cabinets. After she was done, she said, "Okay. I found a lighter, and a hammer."

"Alright." She nodded.

"Hey... A trapdoor!"

"Don't touch that!" Shell jumped off the couch.

She stopped. "Eh? What's wrong?"

"I wouldn't touch it." Shell shook her head.

"But what if something's down here? A clue or maybe even the answer to the Crooked Man?"

Shell sighed. "Alright, we'll go..."

She used the hammer to pry the trapdoor open, then handed the hammer to Shell. "Since I don't have an extra gun."

Shell nodded and took the hammer to use as a weapon. Joey-Rae went down first, then stopped at the bottom. "Shit, it's dark in here! Can't see my own feet!" Shell brought out a flashlight from her bag and shined it down as she went down.

Joey-Rae also lit the lighter for extra light. "I think we sh- *sniff* FUCK, it smells down here!"

Shell wrinkled her nose at the stench and shined her flashlight around. "Hey, what's that?" she lifted the lighter to a mound at the end of the room. "Looks like someone else got her before we did!"

Shell got an uneasy feeling and told Joey-Rae that she would go first. She slowly approached the figure at the end of the room.

She shrugged. "H-hey man. You okay?"

The mound that looked like a person answered with an unearthly growl. "Wh-what th..."

Shell got a very uneasy feeling and shined her flashlight right on the person.

"HOLY HELL!"

The "man" was taller than the both of them, his skin pale and bloodied, his neck bent at a VERY unnatural angle with a twisted sort of grin on his face. "Oh fuck..." Shell whispered, frozen in place. Her legs couldn't find the urge to move.

"Wh-what are you waiting for?! Run!" Joey-Rae pulled on her arm, trembling so hard her teeth were literally clicking

The "Crooked Man" stared straight at Shell, not moving yet but studying her, rather. Shell was frozen, staring right at the creature before her. Her eyes were wide. How could someone's neck be bent like that? No one could be alive like that...

"MOVE!" Joey-Rae's voice broke through her thoughts, and with a rough shove they were running towards the ladder.

Shell-Bell: Shell ran as fast as she could to the ladder, letting Joey-Rae go up first. Once she was out of the room, Shell began to climb the ladder. A hand clamped down hard on her ankle, trying to tug her back down. "Shit!" Shell held onto the ladder as tightly as she could, fighting to get her ankle out of the creature's grip.

"Shell!" Joey-Rae took her gun out of her holster, and closing one eye, took a shot at the creature's hand.

The creature shrieked and let go of Shell. Shell climbed out of the room and slammed the trapdoor shut. She put the couch over it. She breathed hard, her heart pounding.

"That was definitely the fucking Crooked Man." Joey-Rae panted, putting her gun back. "We can't stay in this room. Let's find a room far away from this one."

Shell got up, her heart still pounding. She nodded. They both walked out of the room, both of them practically scared to death. Shell noticed her ankle, the one the Crooked Man grab, was slightly cold. Joey's music broke her thoughts, which was totally out of place in the abandoned hotel. Once they reached the other side of the hotel, they found a suitable bedroom.

"Hey, look. A notebook paper."

Shell looked at the notebook paper.

"It's signed by some guy named Du Ga."

Shell raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that. See for yourself!" she passed the half of the notebook to her.

Shell looked at the notebook and indeed saw the name. "Weird..."

Some banging is heard from downstairs, and Joey-Rae froze. "... There was a couch on top of that trapdoor, right?"

"Yeah." Shell nodded, freezing also.

"Well, I'm going to go down and take a look. You stay here and see if you find anything else."

"You sure?" Shell asked, looking at her.

"Positive." she nodded with a reassuring smile. She got out her gun and stepped out and shut the door.

Shell looked around the room for anything she might find. She found the other half of the notebook, with the other half, ke gahan. The two halves, when put together, read Duke MacGahan. "Duke MacGahan...? Hmmmm...maybe he was here in the hotel..?" She wondered.

A scream came from downstairs, and then another crash. She dropped the paper and ran downstairs to where Joey-Rae was. Joey-Rae was pressed against a broken mirror of the hotel lobby, held up by her neck. She was choking as the Crooked Man tightened his grip.

"Let go of her!" Shell shouted and grabbed a piece of the broken mirror, plunging the glass into the Crooked Man's back. It screeched and dropped the now unconscious Joey-Rae, turning his attention to Shell. "Fuck..." She held the glass out in front of her, not caring that her hand was bleeding. It was her only defense.

The Crooked Man, still grinning, began to clunk towards her, much like a zombie... A slightly faster effin' zombie.

"Get away..." She said, backing away as fear began to overtake her. It completely ignored her, cornering her against the other wall. "Shit..." She whispered, trembling in fear.

It looked at her the same way as before, a hand reaching out and touching the wall beside her head, a low growl escaping his chest. Shell stayed completely still, looking at its still grinning face. Her face became pale as all the color drained away. His hand slowly closed around her throat, not squeezing yet, but still firm "…"

Shell trembled, whimpering quietly. She dropped the glass in her hand, a long cut in her palm that bled. It seemed to watch as the glass dropped to the floor, then its eyes turned back to Shell. It gave the same growl that it had given in the cellar, then began to tighten its grip. Shell's hands flew up, trying to pry the man's hand off her throat. She let out a strangled whimper, her heart pounding in her chest. It continued to tighten its grip, lifting Shell of the ground and slamming her back into the wall, making her actually see stars.

Shell let out a choked groan as she was slammed against the wall. She struggled, trying to get the creature's hand off her throat. Air was starting to leave her.

"Hey, ugly!"

A fist connected with his bent face, making him let go before the girl no more than three quarters of his side began to bear him mercilessly. "YOU. WILL. NOT. HURT. MY, FRIEND!"

Shell collapsed to the floor, coughing and gasping. She held her throat as air rushed back into her lungs. The gun was pulled out of the holster again, and five shots were reported before the gun clicked, out of bullets.

Shell got up, very light-headed. "J...Joey-Rae...we gotta...go..."

The Crooked Man quickly recovered, a roar cracking the windows as it lunged towards Joey-Rae. Shell screamed for the younger girl to run and tackled the creature to the floor. The Crooked Man screeched again, and Joey-Rae ran for Shell, grabbing her forearm and almost dragging her out the door.

Shell ran as fast as she could with Joey-Rae, both of them running out of the room. They ran upstairs to another bedroom, this one with a lock on the door. Shell coughed, rubbing her throat tenderly. Her neck had streaks of blood on it from her bloody hand.

Joey-Rae's pupils were contracted, a frightened expression on her face. "We're going to die in here... This is where we're going to die!'

Shell grabbed the younger girl by her shoulders. "Don't say that! We're gonna get out of here!"

"No we're not! We almost fucking died out there! Not even you could talk to that fucking thing!"

"I can try!" Shell shouted. "I can fucking try! There has to be some way!"

"... Well, I'm out of bullets, they all went into the monster. And my extras, they're all out in my truck. I am NOT going back down there again."

"I'll go." Shell said. She looked around and found a pipe on the floor. She grabbed it. "I'm gonna go out and get the bullets. Where in the truck are they?"

"In the backseat. Be careful out there, okay?"

"I will. Just stay here and don't open the door for anyone except me." Shell said and unlocked the door. She looked around and then left, closing the door behind her quietly. Joey-Rae clicked the lock behind her, and all was quiet.

The way there was quiet, excluding the creaking of old things that had become unsettled by the fight. Shell glanced around the area and slowly walked down the stairs, holding the pipe tightly in her hands. It was still quiet as she got to the door, but as soon as she stepped on the mat in front of it, the doors slammed shut and locked her inside.

"Fuck!" She whispered and grabbed the doorknob, trying to open the door. "Let us out!"

No answer, but from the room to the right came deep sobbing. Shell glanced to the room to the right, blinking. She walked away from the front door and slowly walked towards the room. The sobbing got louder and more urgent, accompanied by banging on the walls. Shell kept her mouth shut and slowly peeked into the room once she got close.

A man, presumably early 20s is on his knees sobbing. From behind, you see black hair, and he's wearing a green jacket.

"U...um...hello...?" She slowly approached the sobbing man, reaching out to touch him.

He turned around, tears filling his green eyes. He's wearing a white shirt, black pants and brown loafers. "Er..." he wiped at his eyes feverishly.

"Oh..um...sorry, I hope I didn't startle you..." She rubbed the back of her neck.

"It's okay. I wasn't crying," he stood up and brushed himself off. He was pretty tall.

She had to crane her neck to look up at him. "Ah well...if I may ask, what are you doing in this place?"

"My girlfriend and I used to go here... It was our special place..."

"Oh...where is your girlfriend now..?" She asked.

"... She broke up with me," he seemed a bit sad, yet said, "I guess it just wasn't mean to be."

Her eyes softened. "Well...there's plenty of fish in the sea...I'm sure there's someone out there for you."

"Yeah, I guess so... I guess I just didn't try hard enough to make her happy..."

She reached and patted his arm a little. "Hey don't say that..."

He cringed away from the touch, his pupils contracting in anger or fright. "Don't-! Don't touch me. I'm fine."

She immediately pulled her hand back. "S...sorry..."

He nodded, backing up a little from her. Shell sighed softly. She hoped that...thing wasn't around. She glanced around, looking outside the room. "What are you looking for?" the man asked, idly looking through one of the desks.

"Well...making sure that monster is anywhere close..." Shell replied.

"What monster?" he asked, and his voice sounded toying.

"I don't know. It's some fucked up thing...it's neck is bent at very unnatural angle..."

"You mean like..." his head slowly started to bend to the angle described. "This...?"

Shell's eyes widened and she nodded. "Yes...like that..." She whispered.

The man's skin paled, the bloody blotches coming back up again, a psychotic smile and the dark soulless eyes boring into her as a scream almost literally shook the room. Fear came from the pit of her body as her eyes widened even more. "Oh god..." She whispered, frozen in fear.

He took a few mechanical step towards her, his growl giving off some kind of psychotic amusement. "S-stay away!" She shouted, holding up the pipe in her hands in order to defend herself. She backed away when he got closer.

He growled again, seemingly at the thought of another pathetic weapon, then just lunged for her. Shell shrieked and swung the pipe as hard as she could, aiming for the Crooked Man. Shell had hit it's head, which actually turned a few degrees so that its head was behind him. He fumbled around for a bit, then cracked its neck back to its "proper" place.

"Fuck..." She turned to run for the door. Her foot got trapped in the rug and she yelped as she hit the ground hard. The pipe clattered away from her.

The Crooked Man stepped on her back, pressing down hard enough that it felt like her spine was going to snap in two. "sss..."

Shell cried out from the pain that erupted in her back and she struggled, attempting to get away. He actually chuckled, stepping down harder before disappearing, letting her run away like a rat. Shell got up as quickly as she could, running back upstairs and straight into the door of the room where Joey-Rae was. She pounded on it hard. "Let me in!"

The door was ajar slightly, and there was no response from in the room. "...Joey-Rae...?" Shell whispered, opening the door slowly.

She wasn't in the room, and a blood trail led out of this room and to the end of the hall, into another room marked "Manager". "Oh fuck..." She said to herself and followed the trail of blood, kicking open the door. "Joey-Rae!"

Joey-Rae was standing by the window, her arms held in front of her and hidden, her normally voluminous hair kind of flat now. She faced away from Shell, and showed no sign of having heard her. "Joey-Rae...?" Shell whispered, slowly approaching the girl. She swallowed thickly, having a bad feeling about this.

She only turned slightly to acknowledge her. Her perky done is now laced with depression. "Hi, Shell."

"Joey-Rae...what's wrong...?" Shell reached out to touch the girl's shoulder.

She turned around, her eyes wide and crazed. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" she held what looked like a very old gun in her grip, and her arms were covered in cuts.

Shell immediately backed away from Joey-Rae. Her eyes were filled with confusion. "Joey-Rae..." She whispered.

"I can't take it any more, Shell... I was... I was seeing things... Bad things... It hurts... It still hurts..."

"I...it's okay sweetie..." Shell approached her again. "It's okay...I promise..."

"No, it's not okay! You don't know it! You don't! You DON'T!" she pointed the gun at Shell to make her back away, then pointed it at herself. "I have to end this. I want to end this... I will end this... It's all my fault... Mine..."

"Joey-Rae, stop..." Shell trembled a bit, trying to get close enough to get the gun away from the girl. "Nothing is your fault...nothing is, you did nothing wrong..."

She froze for a second, a look of consideration flashing across her face, then she mouthed, "Help me."

Shell lunged forwards and smacked the gun out of the girl's hand. She kicked it away.

"Shell..." she looked at her and broke down crying. "It was talking to me... I heard my mother screaming, I heard my sister crying... I saw my house burning again... I... I was holding their bodies!"

Shell pulled the girl into a tight hug, trying to comfort her. "It's okay...that...fucking THING made you see those things...they were only illusions...it's okay now, it's okay..."

She sniffled, wiping at her arms. "Do you have any band aids... Preferably some bandages?"

Shell nodded and rummaged through her bag, finding a giant roll of bandages. She cleaned up Joey-Rae's arms and then bandaged them nicely.

"We need to get out of here. That thing is too violent. It's out of control."

"I know...I...I know what it looked like as a human..." Shell then told Joey-Rae of what she encountered before the man turned into the Crooked Man.

"... Wow. Maybe it was telling you something. Before trying to kill you an all."

"Maybe...I...I wanna see if I can try and talk to it, him whatever..." Shell said softly. "Maybe try to help him pass on..."

"But how? It keeps trying to kill us no matter what we do!"

"I don't know...but I'm gonna figure it out..."

"Well... Okay. I have this gun, but I guess it's better than nothing."

Shell nodded.

"Right!" let's find this dude again and see if we can get through to him.

She nodded again and they left the room, hoping to find the Crooked Man. As they walked down the halls, Joey-Rae seemed uneasy. "I can feel it... It's toying with us like old Stick-in-the-Mud would."

"I can feel it too..." Shell looked around. "Hey...Crooked Man...come out...we just want to talk..."

Nothing but silence greeted them, but the feeling became a little less ominous. "I think he's listening... Keep going, Shell!"

"Look...we just want to talk with you...make you feel better about anything you are mad about...upset about...please.." Shell closed her eyes. "Please...Duke..." She said the name they had found on the paper.

A few footsteps were heard, and the Crooked Man stood on the other side of the hall from them, his body trembling slightly. Shell opened her eyes and looked at the poor creature before them. "It's okay...we just want to help you..." She slowly began to approach the Crooked Man. "I want to help you..."

He didn't move, his body still trembling on end. His mouth cracked open, and in a voice that sounded like it had never been used. "...W...Why...?"

"Because spirits deserve to move on and be at peace, not stay and wallow in guilt and regret." Shell continued to move towards him. "I've met so many cases like yours...I want to help you move on Duke...let me...please..."

He stepped back a little before stopping, still shaking and a growl building up in his chest, but not releasing it. Shell stopped as well, not wanting to get too close. She held her hands up, showing him that she had no weapon of any sort.

He stopped growling, and trembling. He stayed perfectly still, studying her for a moment. Shell wasn't scared this time. She stayed still as well, watching him. He finally spoke, in three simple words that still said do much. "... Help me, then..."

Shell let a small smile cross her face. "I will help you Duke.."

His smile softened a little, and began reverting back to his human appearance. Shell watched as the Crooked Man began to revert back to his human appearance. She slowly reached out her hand to him.

He stayed still for her, still smiling. "Thank you..."

"You're welcome Duke..." She smiled as well.

He started on his own. "My mother died when I was very little... I felt so alone... Then I wasn't able to become a lawyer... It was always that stupid test...Then my girlfriend... I just..." he started sobbing, "I tried so HARD for it all... And it wasn't enough..."

Shell listened to his words intensely. She felt her own eyes tear up from his words. She approached him slowly until she was standing right in front of him. She stood on her tip toes and slowly reached up to take his pale face into her hands. "It wasn't enough for THEM...you tried your best...that is what matters Duke...if they will not appreciate what you have done, then that is their fault, not yours. They could not see what a wonderful person you are...but I see it.."

He looked up at her, searching her face for honesty. Upon finding it, he touched a hand on his face and kept crying. Her own tears fell down her cheeks and she smiled, her thumbs wiping away his tears. Then she moved her hands to his head and pulled it down to her shoulder gently. It was an embrace of comfort.

She nodded and let go of him, stepping back to watch. A pillar of light came down upon him. He looked up, then back at the two girls. He waved at Shell, then looked at Joey-Rae in an apologetic smile. Shell smiled and bid him goodbye. The atmosphere became noticeably lighter when he passed, a far cry from the dark undertones from before.

"Woah."

Shell sniffled and wiped her eyes. "And that's how I help them pass on."

"I've never seen that before... You actually did that... Wow..." Joey-Rae sat down on the floor and stared at the carpet. "That is one thing I will never forget."

"It's nothing special really." Shell said, looking at the younger girl. "But I'll never forget this either..."

"Nothing special, my ass... But yeah..." she got up and hugged Shell. "You can crash at my place if you're too tired to drive home."

Shell hugged her back and nodded, yawning. On the drive to Joey-Rae's home, it was quiet. Joey-Rae herself was practically fighting not to fall asleep. Shell glanced out the window most of the drive home, thinking about their experience at the hotel.


	11. The Reason to Fight Chapter 1

**The Reason to Fight**

**Summary: **When Shell meets back up with her former captain, things go way downhill. Takes place a little time after 'More'.

**Anime/manga: **One Piece

**Category: **hurt/comfort/romance

**Pairings: **very, very slight KiddxShell (if you squint hard enough), but mostly DoflaxShell

_**Chapter 1**_

"I keep telling you, yer too overprotective!"

"So what? She's our _daughter_! Law might do something to her!"

Shell sighed and grumbled to herself as she tried to convince the blonde to leave Lillianne and Law alone. How many times would it take to get it through the thick skull of his?

"I told you this before Doflamingo. Law wouldn't do _anything _to harm Lillianne." Shell sighed heavily, crossing her arms over her chest. "Alright, let's go look for her. We'll split up and meet up back at the mansion when we find both or one of them."

He smiled and hugged his lover tightly, nearly snapping her spine in half. "Yer so smart Shell-bell!" He did not notice that she was kicking her legs and struggling in his iron grip as he continued to hug her. "Okay!" he kissed her nose and then set her down and ran off into the woods, shouting Lillianne's name.

The woman sighed heavily and rubbed the back of her neck. "He'll never learn….." she mumbled and then headed into the town known as Trufflestown. She walked into the nearest bar and to the bartender. "Excuse me…."

"Well hello there! How can I help you miss?" the bartender asks cheerfully.

"I'm looking for a girl, short, redhead, probably with a tall male wearing a fuzzy hat and a yellow hoodie." Shell described the missing persons.

"Oh yeah, I've seen plenty of them!"

Shell perked up. "Really, where?!"

"No, I meant I've seen plenty of people who fit those descriptions. What eye color does the redhead have?"

"Blue."

"What shade of blue?"

The woman growled. This bartender was starting to piss her off. "The same shade that Doflamingo has!"

"I don't know what shade of blue he has."

Shell suddenly let out a scream of frustration and punched the bartender across the face. He fell to the ground and she stomped out, cursing and grumbling underneath her breath. "I'm never gonna find them in this place! I hope Doflamingo's having better luck than me."

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

Shell recognized that voice all too well. Her greyish-green eyes narrowed and she whirled around to find the dark red eyes of Captain Eustass Kidd in front of her with a smirk on his face. "Fuck off Kidd! I am not in the mood!" she tried to walk past him, but his hand shot out and grabbed her arm in an iron grip.

"Why not Shell-bell?"

She screamed out in anger and punched him square in the face. Kidd immediately let go and recoiled back from her sudden attack. "You are NEVER allowed to call me that! EVER!"

He ignored the throbbing in his face and smirked at her. "Really? You had no arguments about it when you were _beneath _me."

Shell gritted her teeth and shuddered when the memory of losing her virginity came back to her. She had been only 17 when that happened and she regretted it greatly. She tossed the memory back into the back of her mind and glared at Kidd. "That was 13 years ago Kidd. I've found someone so much better than you and unlike _you_…he actually cares about me. You only wanted to fuck me!"

Kidd scoffed, glaring daggers at her. "Watch your silver tongue _Shelby_, or it might end up slitting your throat."

She glared back just as much. "I'd like to see you _try_."

"Whatever. When you get tired of Doflamingo, don't come crying back to me. Now, I've got to go. I've got some _weeds _to kill." And that's when he left, leaving a baffled Shell.

"DOES GOD FUCKING HATE ME OR SOMETHING?!"

"SHELL-BELL!" a voice screamed out and Shell yelped as she found herself on the ground with a face buried in her chest and arms wrapped around her waist tightly. "OH, HOW I MISSED YOU MY ANGEL! I'VE BEEN GETTING WEIRD VIBES ABOUT KILLING PEOPLE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

"Yeah….I came across Kidd." She grumbled, her voice dripping with venom with she said the pirate's name.

Doflamingo lifted his face from her chest. "No WONDER I've been wanting to kill him for the past two minutes!" he finally released her and helped her stand. "Where'd the fuck-head go?"

"I think he went back to his ship. He said something about killing weeds."

"What do weeds have to do with his ship?"

"Don't ask me, that's what he said." Shell replied and suddenly, she heard a very faint scream come from the woods. "Hmm?" she looked at the woods and suddenly, her gut tightened. "Wait…"

The blonde saw many different expressions cross his lover's face and then her eyes widened. "Oh shit! Lillianne!" and she bolted for the woods. "C'mon! Lily's in trouble!"

"Hey, wait!" the tall man ran after her.

They both heard a louder scream and yelling. "Lillianne! We're coming!" Shell shouted and finally, they came across a log cabin and rushed inside. "Lil-!" she froze at the scene.

Pieces of the pirate Killer were all over the room and Law was sitting against the wall, shaking, bruised, beaten and panting, covered in blood also. "Law!" she rushed over. "Law, what happened?!"

The younger man lifted his bloodied and bruised face to meet hers. "K-Kidd…." He coughed, blood dribbling down his lip.

Shell's breath hitched and that's when she realized something.

"_Now, I've got to go. I've got some weeds to kill." _Was what Kidd had said.

"Oh-no…" she felt tears sting the corners of her eyes and shook her head. "Fuck! That fucking bastard! He took her!"

"Y…you have to g-get Lily…" Law shakily raised a hand to place it on the woman's shoulder. "P….please…..s..save her…." Was all he said before passing out.

"Get Law back to the mansion now." Shell said, her voice hard and cold. "He needs immediate medical attention."

"What about you?" the blonde knelt down to pick up Law.

She looked up at him and smiled a little. "I'm going to get our daughter back."

"Oh Shell….." he murmured and then grabbed the back of her head, crushing their lips together. She returned the short, but deep kiss and than he pulled away. "Have fun killing your ex and be careful."

"Always." She grinned and then ran off. _Hold on Lillianne! I'm coming! _She thought.

…..

When Shell arrived at Kidd's ship, she heard a scream and a course of laughter. She growled lowly in her throat and easily jumped onto the ship, following the source of the scream. As she went under the deck, she heard voices.

"…sure as HELL she's gonna come here! Just by how easy it'll be to control Shell now is so ravaging! Especially with _her_!"

Shell snarled and swung open the door, hearing it hit the wall behind with a very loud bang. The people in the room looked at her and all saw the VERY dark aura surrounding her. "What….did you say….?"

"Mommy!" Lillianne cried, her small body also bruised and bloodied.

The room went deathly silent until Kidd spoke. "I knew you would come Shell." He grabbed a handful of Lillianne's red hair and yanked her head back painfully and licked her neck, seeing the older woman's expression become darker. "Come for _her_?" he released Lillianne's hair and instead grabbed her throat, lifting her up.

Lillianne gagged, trying as hard as she could to get air. Shell snarled. "Put her down! NOW!"

Kidd smirked. "Okay." And to Shell's complete horror, he slammed Lillianne through the floor, effectively and immediately she went limp. "What? I thought you wanted me to put her down. I think _6 feet under_ would work just fine."

Shell's expression grew darker and darker as Kidd's crew surrounded her. "Get THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!" she brought out her sword and quickly killed the crewmates. "KIDD!"

"Yes Shell-bell?" he asked and then disarmed her easily with his Devil Fruit ability. She lunged at him, but he backhanded her across the face hard and she collided with the wall, falling onto her side. "You're getting weaker and weaker with age Shell."

"Shut up!" she shrieked and lunged at him again.

"You should know to not try the same trick on me twice." He raised his hand again and instead, she dodged the slap and punched him hard in the face, sending him flying backwards and through the ship and onto the island. "Shit…"

Shell stood on the broken boards, snarling. "You're gonna pay Kidd."

He stood up, smirking evilly. "Pay for what? I thought that's what you wanted. I got rid of your _pest_."

Shell suddenly realized what he meant and she quickly turned back into the ship and knelt down, picking up Lillianne's body. "Lillianne!" she shook the younger girl. "Wake up! Lillianne, WAKE UP!" she cried, tears spilling down her cheeks. But the young girl did not move or open her eyes. "Lillianne….." she sobbed and held the girl close to her until she heard Kidd's maniacal laughter.

Rage boiled within her and she dropped Lillianne's body and let out a scream of pure, raw rage and tackled Kidd to the ground, punching him across the face. He growled, trying to prevent her fists from hitting him and tried to flip her over.

But she only clawed at his face and Kidd snarled, grabbing her neck and throwing her off. She collided with the ground roughly, but lunged right back at him again. This time, his boot came down on her head and slammed her onto the ground. "I thought I told you not to try the same tricks on me over and over again Shell."

She glared intensely up at him. "Go to hell you fucking bastard."

He raised his boot from his head and slammed it down on her back. She yelled out in pain, digging her fingernails into the grass. He flipped her over and then slammed his boot down on her stomach, where blood came flying out of her mouth. Kidd chuckled and grabbed the front of her bloodied shirt, lifting her up. "Just say the words Shell. Say the words and I'll leave you alone forever."

His answer: she spat in his face. "I'd rather die you fucking, heartless bastard."

He wiped the spit from his face and snarled before throwing her at a tree. Her head collided with the trunk and the last thing she saw before blacking out was Kidd walking towards her.

…

As she came to, Shell felt that her wrists were tied together and tied above her head. A cloth was tied around her mouth, a gag. Her head was pounding like hell and she opened her hazel eyes, finding herself in the log cabin. It smelled horrible and she cringed at the smell.

"Well, looks like you finally woke up." She glanced up and saw Kidd, glaring weakly at him. "Well, let's just say….this is the end for you." He brought out a dagger and kneeled in front of her. "If I can't have you, then nobody can." And he plunged the dagger into her thigh.

She let out a scream of pain that was muffled by the gag around her mouth. Kidd removed the gag and smirked as he twisted the blade in her thigh. "I want to hear your screams as I kill you."

"F…fuck you!" She screamed out when he roughly twisted the blade and yanked it out.

"Nope, we already played that game, remember? And you lost. Goodbye Shell, we had a good run." And then he plunged the dagger deep into her chest. Her scream was louder than the last one and she felt blood begin to trickle down her mouth.

Kidd laughed, but then his laugh was cut short when the cabin door swung open and a voice angrily spoke. "Get the fuck away from her."

Kidd let go of the dagger that was still protruding from Shell's chest and looked up into the angry lenses of Doflamingo. He flicked his fingers and Kidd found himself slitting his own throat with his sword. He gasped as blood ran down his torso and Doflamingo grinned evilly as the crimson-haired man fell dead to the wooden floor.

The blonde quickly rushed over and untied her wrists carefully, catching her body in his arms. "Shell, this is going to hurt." He warned and gripped the handle of the dagger and with one swift move, pulled it out.

Blood came flying out of her mouth and he quickly pressed a hand to the wound, trying to contain the blood while it seeped through his fingers. She gasped, her breathing ragged and uneven. "I f-failed everyone…" she coughed, tears trickling down her cheeks. "L…Lillianne….L-Law…..y..you…."

"Don't you dare say that angel. None of this is your fault. I love you too much for you to die. Don't go….."

She smiled sadly, feeling her heart begin to slow. "I'm….s-sorry….." her eyes began to close and she saw the faces of Lillianne and her family. "I'm….coming to meet you….."

The last thing she heard was Doflamingo's plea as she took her last breath and faded into darkness.


	12. The Reason to Fight Chapter 2

**The Reason to Fight**

_**Chapter 2**_

_Initiating flashback sequence….._

_12 years ago…_

_Shell had managed to get out of Doflamingo's mansion without him knowing. She had been thankful that he allowed her to stay with him for the past three months. She sighed and lifted her backpack over her shoulder and headed towards the dock for her dingy. _

_She had thrown her bag into the small boat and was beginning to untie the ropes when a voice stopped her. "Not even a goodbye?" _

_The brunette glanced up and saw Doflamingo standing there, his seven-foot tall frame against the moonlight. Even in the darkness, she could see the black pajama pants and the low cut shirt he wore. She sighed and stood up, rubbing the back of her neck. "I didn't think a goodbye was necessary." _

"_Psh," the tall Warlord scoffed. "You really think I would let you leave without getting a goodbye?" _

"_I was actually hoping you would be asleep while I was leaving." She confessed, going to rub her arm nervously. "I'm not good at saying goodbye." _

_The blonde grinned, his eyes gleaming from behind his purple-tinted sunglasses. "Shell-bell, I did not expect you to stay here for a long period of time, but I did expect a farewell, at least. So….." the man opened his muscular arms to her. _

_Shell sighed, but smiled faintly. "Alright," she walked into his welcoming arms and locked her own around his waist as his went around her back. She always thought his arms were safe and comforting to her. _

_When a few moments passed, the two pulled away from each other and she fought to keep the blush down. "Well, I'd better get going. I wish you the best of luck with the Shichibukai and-,"_

_When she had lifted her head to look at him, his hand had cupped her cheek and before she could do anything, he leaned down and crushed his lips to hers, immediately deepening the unexpected kiss. _

_Shell felt her face flush as she blinked to realize the sudden events. She felt the overwhelming feeling to return his kiss and she just caved in. Her eyes fluttered close, her heart was pounding rapidly and her body pulled itself closer to his as she returned the kiss and had to stand on her tip-toes to even attempt to reach his neck. _

_The blonde grinned against her lips and placed his other hand around her waist, effectively pulling her closer and deepening the kiss even more. She felt his tongue flicker against her teeth, begging for entrance into her mouth. With her body weak enough as it was, she allowed her lips to part and she couldn't help but moan as the tongue slipped into her mouth, over her own and wrapping around, massaging. _

_There was a battle for dominance and as the French kiss continued, both of his arms locked around her back tightly and pulled her body flush against his own. When they finally pulled back apart for air, she breathed. "That's one hell of a goodbye." _

"_I have one more thing for you." The blonde grinned and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a beautiful purple gemstone that was the width and length of her pinkie. She glanced at it in awe, her mouth slightly dropped. "Think of it as a parting gift." He spoke and clipped the chain around her neck._

_She touched the gemstone and looked up at the blonde, who smirked. "Good luck to you and your travels love. Hopefully we'll meet up again." And he left back to his mansion. _

_Shell stared at his back and looked back down at the purple gemstone, smiling a little. "Yeah, hopefully." Then she untied the rest of the rope and got into the dingy, letting the waters carry her somewhere. _

_Initiating second flashback….._

_5 years ago….._

_The 25-year old looked down at the redhead in the sand and crouched down, poking the girl's shoulder. "Hey, you alive?" _

_The redhead let out a scratchy groan and lifted her head, crystalline blue eyes meeting hazel ones. Shell reached into her backpack and brought out a cold bottle of water, handing it to the girl. She immediately snatched the water from the older woman and chugged the whole thing down in a matter of 5 seconds. _

_Shell blinked, but then smiled a little as the girl searched her backpack for another bottle. "I guess you were really thirsty huh?" she questioned the girl as she took out another cold bottle of water. _

_The girl only drank half of the second bottle and closed the lid, wiping her lips on her sleeve. "Uh-huh, I've been traveling in this desert for days and I ran out of water…" _

"_What's your name? Mine's Shell." _

_The girl brightened up. "Lillianne." _

"_Well, Lillianne, I'm looking for crew members of my crew. Wanna be the first?" _

_The dirt-covered redhead smiled widely and nodded, glomping the older girl. Shell only sighed softly and patted Lillianne's head. "Alright, let's get a move on. I found the perfect ship." _

_End flashback sequence…._

"What the hell do you mean you don't know the outcome? You're the best surgeon I know of!"

Law sighed heavily, scratching his head. "The blade had nearly been centimeters away from piercing her heart. Plus, she had lost a lot of blood and had gone into shock by the time you got her here."

The blonde curled his hands into fists and fumed. He couldn't lose her! He nearly did once and it wasn't going to happen a second time!

"Mr. Doflamingo," Law spoke formerly. "I will do everything in my power to make sure Miss Shell will survive. Right now, she is resting comfortably and Lillianne is beside her."

The tall Warlord cursed himself. When he first found Lillianne, barely conscious and wounded, he had taken her back to the mansion so Law could tend to her wounds, considering he had also been greatly injured. But then when he found Shell….

He had felt her own heart stop. But then Law had managed to get it beating again and tended to her wounds.

"Considering how strong Miss Shell is," Law spoke as he tore the bloodied gloves off his hands. "She has an 83 percent chance of recovering."

"What about the other 17 percent?" Doflamingo questioned the younger Warlord.

"The other 17 percent doesn't matter. It's the 83 percent that matters."

In the infirmary, a bandaged up Lillianne sat by Shell's side, watching as she slept comfortably. The redhead had her hair in a messy ponytail, her bangs covering the left side of her face. She just wanted her captain to wake up.

Lillianne sighed heavily and rubbed her tired eyes. All of a sudden, she heard a sharp intake of breath and a long sigh. She glanced at the brunette, hoping she would've woken up but her face fell when she realized she hadn't.

And then Shell opened her eyes.

Lillianne's face broke into a smile. "Captain-sama!" she exclaimed and hugged the older woman around the neck, effectively choking her. "Oh captain, I'm so glad you're okay! We thought for sure you weren't going to wake up!"

"Lillianne, that's nice and all…." Shell wheezed. "But I can't breathe….."

The redhead immediately released her mother figure and she was able to breathe again. Shell coughed and massaged her neck, gaining her air back. "Well, yer an idiot then. Did you really think someone like _Kidd _could kill me?"

Lillianne could feel the tears, but she kept them away. "You worry us too much Captain-sama. I'll go get the others!" she rushed out of the room and quickly came back with the two men.

"SHELL BELL!"

Lillianne had to trip the running flamingo as he tried to glomp the injured woman and he fell to the floor, face-first. "Sorry Mr. Doflamingo, but you can't hug Miss Shell too much. The injury in her chest could still very well open again if you excite her too much."

"I was almost killed!" Shell shouted angrily, her face still red from Lillianne's choking hug. "You'd think I would like my _fiancée _to at LEAST hug me to make sure I don't-!" she then cringed as blood spurted from her chest and began to stain the bandages.

Law had to kick everyone else so he could tend the reopened wound. About an hour later, Doflamingo was allowed to go in, but he couldn't stay long because she had to rest.

"Like I said to Lillianne before, yer an idiot. Did you really think someone like _Kidd _could kill me?"

"He's dead now." The blonde grasped her left hand and kissed the ring on it. "..I'm sorry I didn't get there earlier love. If only I had…."

"If I could smack you over the head, I would." She snorted. "Look at me. I'm way too strong to die."

"Did you ever see a white light?"

"Yeah, but I didn't go towards it. I saw my entire life flash through my eyes, the good AND bad memories." She sighed, wincing a little. "But thanks to my strong will, I'm still here."

He chuckled and got out of the chair, sitting on the edge of the bed. He brushed a lock of her dark brown, highlighted hair out of her face and then leaned down, giving her forehead a sweet kiss. "It's too bad yer injured like this…I would fuck you right here, right now, fufufufufu."

"Just be like that until we get married." She grinned.

"We'll discuss that later angel. Let's worry about you recovering for now." He spoke. "I love you Shell."

She closed her eyes, smiling. "I love you too."


	13. The Switch is Now OFF

**The Switch is now OFF**

I hadn't expected this.

I hadn't expected the Judge to come to us, the Batter and I. I hadn't expected the Judge to speak of how horrible the Batter was and that he had made the world worse, eradicated. But that was the Batter's mission and it had been my job to make sure his sacred mission was fulfilled.

"Stop right there, you imposter." The Judge spoke. "I must say that I had placed the blindest of confidences, the solidest of hopes and the most sincere belief in you. We can well say that I have erred to the bones. But the real betrayer is rather the one who lies beyond the eye of the cat. What have you done, Player? In the opague mist of the sceneristic frame really your excuse for killing woman and child? You have not purified this place. You have destroyed, eradicated it. You have immersed it into a pristine nothingness!"

"It's better like that." The Batter spoke, having no time nor the patience with the Judge.

"I should not have lent you my hand. I should have detected the black flame that consumed your soul from the beginning!" The Judge meowed angrily and then turned his attention to me. "Player, join me. Expiate the sins with me that we are guilty of by preventing this monster from completing his work."

"Don't do that." The Batter turned to me, all four of his eyes looking straight at me, straight into my soul. "I need you in order to purify this world."

I looked between the Batter and the Judge. Why would I betray my Batter? There would be no reason to betray him...

I stepped over with the Batter and as we turned, his hand squeezed my shoulder protectively. The Judge glared at both of us and hissed. "You two will pay for this."

After a long, hard battle, the Judge weakly stood, bright red blood dripping from his wounds. "Y...you...have destroyed...everything..."

And with that, he collapsed, going limp as he died.

The Batter stood weakly as well, hunched over slightly. His legs shook as he attempted to keep himself standing. Then, his grip on his hand weakened and the bat clattered to the floor. He fell to his knees and I hurried over to him, catching him before he hit the ground. I sat down, holding him against me, his back to me and his head on my chest. "Batter..." I murmured, taking the black cap off his head and treading my fingers through his blood-stained, blonde locks.

He was incredibly weak, breathing slowly. I knew he wasn't going to be here much longer. "Y...you have to...pull the switch..." He said weakly, looking up at me.

"But...I'll lose you..." I whispered, holding him tighter to me.

"Do not...worry about me, my...dear Player." His hand came up to mine, which was resting on his chest. He squeezed my hand as much as he could. "The switch...must be pulled..."

I looked at him with tears in my eyes. I slowly set him down on the ground and got up, walking over to the switch. My fingers wrapped around the handle and slowly, brought it down. There was a resounding noise that sounded as if everything just shut down.

I walked back over to the Batter and sat down, pulling him onto my lap. I held him close as his breathing seemed to be getting weaker and weaker, second by second. The room began to get dark as well. I looked down at the Batter's face, sniffling softly when he reached up slowly and brushed the tears from my cheek.

"My...precious...Player..." He whispered, his bottom two eyes closing slowly.

I slowly leaned down and pressed my lips to his cold ones. It was only a mere kiss of affection...and sadness. I knew he couldn't return it, but he seemed to give a ghost of a smile against my lips. Then, his hand fell into his lap and he let out a slow sigh as his top eyes closed slowly.

I held him tight to me and let the tears stream down my cheeks. The room was getting darker and darker by the second. Suddenly, I heard footsteps come up from behind me and hands placed themselves on my shoulders.

"You've done well, Player..." Zacharie said softly, looking down at the Batter's motionless form in my arms. "You both have done well..."

I lifted my head a bit and sniffled. "What's going to happen?"

"The zones have been purified, the world has been purified." Zacharie replied. "Now...it's time."

I knew what that meant.

I closed my eyes as the room became even darker.

The switch was now...

"Off."


	14. Weddings are so Tiresome Chapter 1

**Weddings are so Tiresome**

**Summary: **Four months after the pinkest wedding ever, it's finally the week of Lillianne's and Law's wedding. Hopefully nothing goes wrong.

**Anime/Manga: **One Piece

**Category: **humor/romance

**Pairings: **LawxLillianne and DoflaxShell

_**Chapter 1**_

Shell remembered when she got married four months ago. Ha, how could she not? A hell week filled with fights, jealousy from others and happiness. It WAS the pinkest wedding of the century.

Now, she was unsurprised when Law told her before she got married that he was going to propose to Lillianne after Shell's wedding. He even had the ring picked out- a circular amethyst set into a silver ring with a ring of swirls etched into the metal around the jewel.

It was very beautiful and Shell had given Law brownie points for picking out such a beautiful ring.

Now, when Law had told Doflamingo…

No, the blonde didn't kill Law.

But Law DID receive a black eye.

And then Doflamingo received a black eye from Shell.

Let's just say that Shell was pissed at him for acting so childish. After a long three hour discussion with her husband, Shell finally convinced the blonde that Law was NOT going to pick her apart to see what her insides looked like or what would happen if he took whatever out of her.

Shell was still surprised by how much Doflamingo cared about Lillianne, even protecting her from a massive pervert back in the bar before the couple's wedding.

Even though they didn't really plan for children, both thought of Lillianne as their daughter. Shell could consider Lillianne her daughter because she was only 25 when she first found Lillianne, at 13-years old and raised her with the help of Ivankov.

Right now, Shell, Lillianne and Ivankov- in his woman form- were crossing off things they already had for the wedding. "Alright! So we ordered the cake, the tuxes, the honeymoon suite…" Ivankov mentioned other things on the list and smiled. "Darling, this won't be as fun as Shell-san's wedding."

"It isn't fun because I can't see Law for a WEEK!" Lillianne pouted, crossing her arms over her chest childishly.

"Payback's a bitch." Shell snorted. "Its revenge for what you did to me."

"IT WASN'T THAT BAD!" Lillianne wailed.

"Now you know how I felt!"

"Girls," Ivankov scolded, causing both girls to glare at each other, but look to the tall woman. "Enough, we still have to plan the bachelorette party. Now, where should we look into?"

Lillianne raised her hand and Ivankov picked her. "We should have it at a bar, no boys allowed." She grinned.

"Remember the last time you went into a bar?" Shell mentioned and Lillianne's grin fell. "You were lucky that Doflamingo was there at the time."

"It's not like I went by myself! I'm only 17!"

"Almost 18 hun." Shell corrected and the redhead pouted again, looking quite adorable. Shell sighed. "Lillianne, don't be such a-."

OP

"-pansy! You did the EXACT same thing to me and Shell. You can live a week without her!"

Law glared at the taller Warlord and crossed his arms over his chest. "Lillianne wanted to do the ordinary customs for a wedding."

"And that's EXACTLY what we're doing." Doflamingo grinned. "It's a little thing called 'payback's a bitch'."

And that was a phrase that Shell had said quite often.

Of course, the blonde was happy for Lillianne since he had his own marriage 4 months ago. He suddenly frowned to himself.

His _daughter_….was getting _married_.

Honestly…he NEVER thought he was going to find the perfect woman. All the other woman he went out were either boring, too clingy, too bitchy or just plain uninteresting. Then Shell finally came around when he was 30 and she was 18. Of course, he was quite a bit older than her, but he had allowed her to stay in his home until she decided to go back out.

It was only a few months later when she left, wanting to travel the seas. From 18 to 28- ten years in between- she had gained a crew and a daughter. It's when Doflamingo- who was at the still young age of 39- met up again with Shell and he once again allowed her to stay, also allowing her "daughter" Lillianne to stay.

In a few short months, the two had began dating and when Shell was 30 and he turned 41, he finally confessed how much he loved her after Lillianne nearly died from a poison she HERSELF made. Shell was quite shocked when he had told her how much he loved her and cared for Lillianne like a daughter himself.

Of course, now since the two were married…..

Law glanced up at the blonde as he suddenly got a look of horror on his face.

"OH FUCK! I JUST REALIZED THAT-!"

…..

"-YOU'RE A FUCKING, CHEATING BITCH!"

The three women- Shell, Lillianne and Ivankov- were all taken aback by the comment said by the woman in front of them. She was fat, had a double chin and huge hips that came out of her sides like giant tumors. Her hair was flat and greasy and her eyes were green and ugly.

The three women exchanged glances and then looked back to the woman. "I beg your pardon?" Lillianne questioned.

"YOU HEARD ME!" the woman shrieked. "YOU STOLE LAW-SAMA! JUST LIKE THE SLUT BEHIND YOU STOLE DOFLAMINGO-CHAN!"

The woman didn't hear it Shell's low growl, but Lillianne did.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST TAKE ANYBODY YOU WANT HUH?! WELL GUESS WHAT?! YOU CAN'T FUCKING HAVE HIM! STUPID, REDHEAD, WEAK BITCH!"

And then the woman punched Lillianne across the face.

Both Ivankov and Shell were shocked by the sudden turn of events as Lillianne recoiled back, clutching her left cheek. The redhead made a small noise that sounded like a whimper and pulled her hand back, seeing splotches of blood. The woman's rings that were on her hand had cut into Lillianne's cheek.

"Uh-oh…." Ivankov said quietly when she could feel the dark aura beginning to surround Shell's form.

Shell's hands curled into tight fists and she gently grabbed Lillianne by her shoulders and handed her to Ivankov.

"She's gonna die…." Ivankov finished her phrase.

The woman's eyes got wide and full of fear as the dark aura surrounding Shell became darker and bigger, nearly engulfing the woman as Shell approached her. "So…make a choice bitch. How do you want to die? Slow and painful, or quick and painless?"

Lillianne shuddered. She had heard her captain's voice become so evil once or twice in the years they've been together.

The woman backed away in fear and Shell smirked evilly, her pupils turning to very thin slits as her anger rose. The woman screamed and turned on her heel, intending to run off but Shell commanded the darkness of her aura to snatch the woman.

Tendrils of darkness zoomed from her aura and wrapped around the woman's neck tightly and slamming her onto the ground. The woman screamed for help as the tendrils dragged the woman towards Shell and one wrapped around her mouth, silencing her screams.

Shell brought out her sword and commanded the shadows to drag the woman into an ally way so they wouldn't be disturbed.

Lillianne cringed as she heard the blade come down, cutting off something. She still heard the woman scream, even though her mouth was gagged. "You should've thought twice about insulting my daughter. You can insult me, but you DO NOT insult my daughter."

Lillianne heard three more slices and heard Shell's dark chuckle. "Any last words?"

She heard the woman plea, but Shell tsked. "Sorry, no second chances." And with one last swift move, Lillianne heard the blade come down and everything fell silent. She saw the aura die down and finally fade.

Shell came out with her sword sheathed and splotches of blood on her face and clothes. She came up to Lillianne and got the corner of her shirt wet to wipe up the blood on Lillianne's cheek. "I'm sorry about that, but no one insults you and gets away with it."

Lillianne only smiled at her captain's over protectiveness. "I forgive you Captain-sama."

"Now then! Shall we head out to find the perfect place for the bachelorette party?!" Ivankov suggested.


	15. Weddings are so Tiresome Chapter 2

**Weddings are so Tiresome**

_**Chapter 2**_

"_Then she will be passed off to the groom….the groom kisses her…." _

Lillianne played with a lock of her curled-up red hair as she remembered the words the marriage officiant had spoken two days ago. "Lillianne Sarafina Bohemia, stop moving or I swear to God I will poke you on _purpose_." Shell growled when Lillianne moved her arm.

Lillianne quickly put her arm at her side as Ivankov (now a woman) and Shell fixed the dress to Lillianne's small figure. Her tattoos were more visible with her dress, but nobody cared about her tattoos, except for Lillianne herself.

"Just a few more ticks Lily-chan and you'll be all ready!" Ivankov exclaimed. "You are just as beautiful as you were at Shell-san's wedding!"

"No, she's more beautiful than she was at my wedding." Shell corrected.

Ivankov nodded. "You have a point Shell-san."

Lillianne's dress was a mix of green and blue, with a blue veil and no sleeves, with the sides being green and the front and back being blue. The back was tied like a corset and Lillianne was thankful she didn't have big breasts like Ivankov (in woman form) and Shell.

Lillianne fought not to cry at Shell's wedding and was afraid she was going to cry herself. "There!" Ivankov spoke as she placed the blue veil over Lillianne's face. "All finished!"

Shell frowned when she saw the look on Lillianne's face. "Iva-san, could you leave us for a moment or two?"

Ivankov nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Shell sighed and lifted the veil out of Lillianne's face, kneeling down to her height since Lillianne was only 5'1", 9 inches shorter than Shell.

"My sweet little Lily-pad," Shell murmured softly, using Lillianne's nickname. "Why do you have the expression that you want to cry?"

Lillianne sniffled, holding the tears back. "Because….I never would've thought…I would get married…and have a family. I just wish….my brother was here." Lillianne put a hand to her mouth as the tears threatened to fall.

"Oh Lily," Shell embraced the shorter girl, careful not to pop her dress. "I know you wish your brother was here. And I wish I would get to meet him, but I'm sure he's out there somewhere, wishing the same thing."

Lillianne hugged her mother-figure back, laying her head against the older woman's shoulder.

They pulled back from each other and Shell smiled. "Remember that phrase I've always followed? Face forward….."

"-And march." Lillianne finished and both of them smiled.

"Face forward and march." Her captain leaned down and kissed Lillianne's forward before pulling the cerulean blue veil over her face. "I'll be seated. Your father is waiting for you outside. Don't cry."

Lillianne nodded and Shell left. The redhead took a deep breath and then picked up the sides of her dress so they wouldn't rip and then left the room, in search of her father-figure. She found him whispering something in Shell's ear and she grew red with embarrassment and hit the blonde over the head.

She caught Lillianne from the corner of her eye and Lillianne saw Shell whisper something harsh in Doflamingo's ear, because his face had turned a sheet of white. He gave an 'okay' and then watched Shell leave to the ceremony.

Lillianne sighed and walked up to the ten-foot man, the one she called her father-figure. "Oh Lily-chan," he spoke with a sigh. "Never thought I would see the day that my…_daughter_ gets married."

"You thought you would never see the day where you actually found someone instead of hopping from woman to woman."

The blonde coughed a little, fixing his tie. "Touché Lillianne," he grinned. "But really, you look beautiful."

Lillianne blushed a little. "Thank you and Captain-sama has always been right, you are a suck up."

"Shell likes it." The blonde grinned and held out his arm to her. "Shall we?"

Lillianne nodded and looped her arm through the blonde's as they walked up to the door which held everyone inside. Lillianne chanted those words that had Shell living her life all those years.

_Face forward…_Her thought began as the wide, tall doors opened and the wedding march, played by the Straw Hats' Musician Brook, began. _And march. _

Lillianne held the bouquet tightly in her free hand as they walked down isle, past Lillianne's friends, family and other guests. She felt tears sting at the corners of her cerulean blue eyes and she slightly tightened her grip on the blonde's arm.

Law never looked so handsome in the sleek, black tux he wore. His grey eyes widened in amazement as he watched Lillianne come down the isle. He never saw something so…exquisite in his entire life.

Lillianne was passed off to Law, where the blonde sat down beside Shell, who was trying her best not to cry. As the marriage officiate began, people murmured to each other.

"She's so beautiful…"

"I know. Damn, I wish I was married to her. She's got a nice ass."

Shell heard the man speak and turned over her head, glaring daggers at the man. The man sweat-dropped and held up his hands in defeat. Shell snorted and turned back around, popping her shoulder back into place.

"Trafalgar Law, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her, for so long as you both shall live?"

"Yes."

"Lillianne Sarafina Bohemia, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto him, so long as you both shall live?"

"Yes."

"Take hands and repeat after me: I, Trafalgar Law, take you, Lillianne Bohemia, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward." Law repeated the words.

"I, Lillianne Bohemia, take you, Trafalgar Law, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward." Lillianne repeated the words.

"Do we have the rings?" the marriage officiate asked and Luffy came forward, giving them the rings.

Law placed the ring on Lillianne's finger and spoke. "With this ring, I thee wed."

Lillianne placed the second ring on Law's finger and spoke. "With this ring, I thee wed."

"Let these rings be given and received as a token of your affection, sincerity and fidelity to one another. In as much as Trafalgar Law and Lillianne Bohemia have consented together in wedlock and have witnessed the same before this company, and pledged their vows to each other, by the authority vested in me by the State of Louisiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Lillianne expected a gentle kiss, but once the veil was out of her face, the man grabbed the back of her neck, careful of her veil and crushed his lips to hers in a deep, passionate kiss.

Everyone in the room applauded and Lillianne returned the passionate kiss before they both pulled away. "I love you Lillianne." He spoke with a smile.

"I love you Law."

They came down to the isle and Lillianne remembered she had to throw the bouquet. "I have to throw the bouquet!" she giggled and then turned her back to the giggling girls, except for Shell who stood off to the side with Doflamingo.

Lillianne threw the bouquet over her head and the girls all exclaimed as they shoved one another to grab the colorful bouquet. They all reached out to grab it as it got closer and closer to them….when Ivankov (still a woman) reached out and grabbed the bouquet, laughing.

Some people laughed and applauded while others, mostly the girls, just grumbled and walked away. About an hour later, everyone met up at the wedding reception and Shell embraced her daughter tightly. "I'm so proud of you Lillianne." She smiled and pulled away from the redhead.

"Thank you Captain-sama." Lillianne smiled brightly.

First came the dance between daughter and father/father-figure and as they danced, Ivankov (STILL a woman) leaned over to Shell. "Lily-chan looks like a midget compared to Doflamingo-chan."

Shell laughed a little. "Everyone looks like a midget compared to him. Even me." She snickered.

Once the father-daughter dance was over, everyone else joined in. Ivankov grabbed Shell by her wrists and dragged the brunette onto the dance floor, dancing along with the fast-paced music.

By the time Shell had tried to get away, she was yanked back onto the dance floor by her husband to dance to the slow-paced song. "Are you happy love?" he questioned.

She smirked. "Of course I'm happy darling. Lillianne's married and she'll want children."

"Hopefully later and not now." The blonde earned a smack over the head.

After the wedding reception and most people got drunk, they left and Lillianne and Law confronted Shell and Doflamingo before they left for their honeymoon. "Now remember. No killing, no separating people from their bodies and no taking hearts."

"We know Miss Shell." Law spoke, his arm around Lillianne's shoulders. "We'll stay out of trouble."

"Good. I don't want to find your poster on my front door."

Lillianne giggled as Law picked her up and carried her off.

Shell sighed as she watched the two walk off to their honeymoon.

"Now…" Doflamingo spoke, curling his arm around Shell's waist. "How 'bout that session?"

She smirked.


End file.
